The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies
by Wings of Speed
Summary: Within the dark recesses of Trinity’s mind are memories pertaining to the Silencerz that probably should be left where they are, but when the imperative reasserts itself, things are not as they should be. The past collides with the present as we get a lo
1. Chapter 1

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: I no own, in no way shape or form. It's not mine.

Summary: Set after 'The Ultimate Race' Vert finds himself in all worlds of trouble, and it's not going to be easy to escape from, especially when he has no clue he's being followed or by who. The Silencerz want him, but he wants not a thing to do with them, he only wants to find his way back to his friends. In the mean time, Shirako meets a nemesis from the past that wants revenge in any form, even if it means taking the Teku driver out permanently. Of course, this person has to have some connection to Vert and it's Vert that leads this person to Shirako. Will both Teku be able to survive what I have in store for them or will one of them meet an untimely fate?

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

"Son, we need to talk," his father had said to him after removing the strange looking face shield and neck support.

"Dad?" Was all Vert had been able to come up with.

Now, here he was, in the Silencerz headquarters, surrounded by a bunch of people he knew absolutely nothing about and a father he was beginning to believe he knew not at all.

_Was this something he should have suspected? Were there clues he had over looked?_

"This way Vert," his father said, indicating a path down a long corridor. "There's some people you should meet and things I guess that should be explained."

_Yeah, I would think so. _Vert said silently to himself.

He followed his father down the corridor, taking in the silver and purple of the walls. It seemed everything to do with the Silencerz was done in purple and silver, not just their cars. The walls were a lackluster silver, the coloring not bright enough to catch and reflect the illumination from the lights above. Doors were set into the walls, numbers and letters in purple giving some sort of identification to what lay beyond each door, but what that information was, Vert didn't know.

At the end of the corridor were a pair of doors, on which was the symbol of the Silencerz. Vert watched as the doors slid open before them. His father walked through without a moment's hesitation. Vert followed through a bit more wearily, not sure if he were walking into a trap or if his father truly had some fellow Silencerz that he wanted his son to meet.

There was a large round table almost perfectly centered in the middle of the room. Fourteen chairs were spaced evenly around the table, also silver and purple like everything else within the Silencerz base so far that Vert had seen. He took notice that there were five others within the room. Three of them were sitting at the table while the other two were standing near some consuls in the back of the room, furthest from the door.

Vert glanced at his father as the older man stopped. "I've brought him as you ordered," his father said to one of the people standing at the back of the room.

All five turned their heads to take in the newcomers. One of the three sitting at the table stood up and it appeared as if they were going to approach Vert and his father. A quick motion from Vert's father had the person stopping and returning to their seat.

Vert's attention was drawn to one of the two standing in the back. They hit a button on one of the consuls then turned to approach him and his father. The person walked toward them, but made no show of being in any particular hurry. After finally reaching Vert and his father, the person stopped in front of them and cocked their head, as if silently regarding Vert.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the person removed their helmet. Vert didn't recognize the man, didn't recall ever seeing him at all in his life. He was a few inches taller than his father and had black hair. There were a few streaks of gray around his temples, but other than that there were no indications on exactly how old this guy might be. His eyes were a deep emerald, almost looking black, and his eyes were to close together and looked rather beady.

His nose had a pinched look to it and was crooked, as if it had been broken at some point and hadn't mended right. His mouth seemed twisted in a sneer, giving him a rather cruel look. Overall, Vert's first impression of this guy was that he didn't like him. Something about him just rubbed Vert the wrong way.

"I'm Admiral Graymond, Co-coordinator of the Silencerz Organization and you I would presume to be Vert Wheeler." The man's voice even sounded cruel, it reminded him of an evil villain from some old 50's movie.

"Yeah," Vert began, only to have the Admiral cut him off.

"I also understand that you've been working for Tezla and our simul-agent Gig." It wasn't a question, more of a statement or observation.

"Yeah," was all Vert could get out again before the Admiral was again talking.

The man's cold green eyes were staring at him, but they almost seemed to be staring through him, as if he were looking at something behind the young man. "I hope you understand you work for us now. Everything that Tezla had accomplished, everything he had discovered has been lost. We are the only ones that now have access to the Wheel of Power and the Racing Realms.

"The Drone's are destroyed. The AcceleDrome has been destroyed. Tezla and your friends have no hope of ever returning to the Realms. All their secrets will be ours and you will help us."

"I really doubt that," Vert said, his voice colored with his anger.

His father put a hand on his shoulder, "Son, you don't have much of a choice, not if you really want to go into the Realms again. Not if you want to race again."

"I won't betray my friends, not to the likes of you!" Vert burst out and suddenly found himself racing from the room, not really sure where he was going. He ran down the corridor, half expecting to hear booted footsteps behind him. All he heard was the sound of his own boots on the corridor floor.

"Vert!" Two voices yelled from behind him, still within the room. One his father, the other he didn't recognize. He ignored them both and kept running.

The end of the corridor brought him out into the room he had awoken in earlier. There were still suited Silencerz technicians working on various cars and at various consuls. He spotted Reverb sitting in a stall next to one of the Silencerz vehicles and made a mad dash for his car.

The keys were still in it, though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. There was no telling how long he had been out and what the technicians could've done to his car. He'd just have to take his chances he figured as he opened the door and quickly got in. Within seconds he had the car started and was squealing the tires as he attempted to figure a way out of the Silencerz headquarters.

He couldn't use the Wheel of Power, it was stationary at the moment and there'd be no telling where it'd put him out at even if it was moving. He couldn't return to the AcceleDrome anyhow, not with it being destroyed. He'd have to figure a way out of this base and then figure out where to go from there.

The Admiral turned to look at the three people sitting at the table. He indicated the two sitting the closest to him, "You two will follow him to see where he goes. Do not approach him under any circumstances; we want him to think he's escaped from here."

"Understood," the two said simultaneously as they got up from their seats.

With an air of calmness but a quickness to their step, they left the conference room and headed toward the garage bays.

Vert felt like he was doing circles, he'd swear he had passed through this same hallway at least three times already. There was nothing easy about the layout of the Silencerz base. Corridor's ended abruptly with dead end walls while others just seemed to take you in circles, never giving the impression of having any particular function other than to confuse unwanted guests. Or confuse those who were trying to escape.

He cut around another corner and found himself face to face with one of the Silencerz cars. Gunning the engine and hitting the e-break he forced the car into a 180 turn and started back down the way he had just come. He was just about to turn a left corner when he noticed another Silencerz car coming up that direction. Right was looking a lot better.

He forced the car into a sharp right turn, bringing the car up on two tires and continued to speed down the corridor. He could see both cars following behind him, but he seemed to be gaining distance on them. There had to be a way to loose them in the labyrinth-like maze of the base, but he wasn't sure how. The Silencerz drivers would have the advantage of knowing the layout far better than he.

He cut another sharp right then dodged left as another Silencerz car seemed to materialize out of nowhere. He was really beginning to hate their ability to cloak their cars at the moment, but it would also be a nice ability for him to have. Only problem was, he didn't have it and they did.

Then he noticed something, they seemed to be purposely herding him in this direction. Were they setting up some sort of trap?

He hit the e-break again and forced Reverb into another gut-wrenching 180 degree turn. He silently wondered how well the Silencerz drivers played at the game of chicken. He'd have his answer in a few moments.

The distance between his car and theirs was quickly disappearing and he found himself worrying about who would dodge first. They seemed adamant about not letting him go that way. There had to be a good reason why. Perhaps because the exit was that way?

At the last possible second the two Silencerz cars swerved down into connecting corridors, leaving the way clear. With a sigh of relief he full throttled the car and made a mental note to go which ever way it seemed they didn't want him to go.

At the next intersection there was another Silencerz car waiting for him, he drifted past the car and continued down the corridor. The next few corridors were the same way and he always went down the one they seemed to not want him to go down.

After what seemed like hours he found something that looked like an exit. He only hoped that that's what it was.

"Have you heard anything from Vert?" Lani asked over the communication chip. The AcceleDrome had been destroyed hours ago, the remaining Drones' along with it. Now the drivers were attempting to make some semblance of what had occurred, but they were one driver short and no one seemed to know where Vert was.

"No, not a thing," Nolo answered, his eyes catching those of his teammates as well as those of the Metal Maniacs. "Have you?"

"No," came Lani's reply.

"We're looking for him," Tork started to say, "but we don't have a clue where to start. If he used the EDR there's no telling where he could've come out at."

"Especially with the AcceleDrome being destroyed," Nolo cut in.

"He could be looking for us too," Monkey added.

Everyone looked at each other. It was a possibility. Vert could very likely be looking for them, but he'd be having the same problem as them: Not a clue where to start.

Karma closed her eyes as a thought occurred to her. She opened her eyes again to look at everyone then allowed her gaze to fall on Nolo and Tork. "What if we go back to where it all started?" She asked.

Nolo and Tork looked at her then recognition dawned in their eyes. "The Coast Road," they both said at once.

"We've got an idea Lani, we'll let you know what happens once we get there." Nolo said into the communication chip.

"What?" Lani asked, but they were already gone.

_Ok, review and let me know what you think. Should I continue or call it quits here. Though this is not my first fanfic, it is my first AcceleRacers Fanfic and any feedback would be greatly appreciated. If you've checked out my Bio you maybe surprised by my age, don't be, I have a seven year old son and I can blame him for my interest in this fandom. Plus I have a natural attraction for fast and hot cars; my own car is evidence of that. Read, review and let me know what you think. The next two chapters are already completed and the fourth is on its way to completion. Thanks much!_


	2. The Open Road

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: Ownership disclaimed in Chapter 1…shouldn't that be good enough?

Summary: Vert manages to escape from the Silencerz base, but now he finds himself lost and alone. He runs into a group of street racers, but will they prove to be friendly or enemies?

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 2: The Open Road

He wasn't exactly sure where here was; he had continued driving once he had escaped from the Silencerz Headquarters. Had continued on until he was quite certain he wasn't being followed, it was only then that he stopped to attempt to figure out where he was.

And where here was, he wasn't exactly certain.

What he was certain of was that he was lost. And alone.

His surroundings reminded him of those around the AcceleDrome, but something about the rock formations was completely different. Plus, there was a coolness in the air that didn't fit with what he was familiar with.

It would be best to continue driving for right now, at least until he reached someplace that would give him a good idea of where he was. If only he could change the appearance of his car the way the Silencerz could, Reverb would stick out like a sore thumb and if the Silencerz were looking it wouldn't take them long to find.

Shifting gears, he squealed the tires as he once more found himself driving down a lonely and unknown road. He passed road sign after road sign, but none of them gave him a clue as to where he was. He didn't recognize any of the city or town names and he found himself wondering exactly what state he was in.

He'd come to the conclusion that he wasn't in his home state anymore and that he was somewhere near the East Coast, or up north somewhere. The only thing he was certain of was that he needed to be heading southwest.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had parked the Sweeper somewhere within the foothills on the outskirts of the city and headed in on foot. They needed to find a car since all of theirs had been lost in the Racing Drones headquarters. Yet where would they find a car that Vert might recognize, and find it in such a short amount of time?

"We don't have time to rebuild any of the cars, we don't know when or if Vert's going to show up," Nolo said, his head tilted up to gaze into the darkening sky.

Karma was leaning back against the guardrails, Taro on her left side and Nolo on her right. Her gaze turned to regard her leader, "For all we know, he could've already been here and left."

"Maybe," Taro said, his eyes looking down toward the ground, his mind sifting through ideas and plans. Yeah, they definitely needed to get new cars, but without access to the AcceleDrome and its seemingly endless supplies of car parts, that would be almost impossible.

"If only there was a way to get in touch with him." Kurt said softly.

Everyone nodded their head, but knew it was near impossible. He'd need a communication device like the one that Nolo and Lani were carrying, but as far as everyone knew he didn't have one and the communications in Reverb wouldn't work. The communication chips didn't have enough of a power boost to them to attempt to contact the comm. unit in Reverb. That's if he was still driving Reverb. There was no guarantee that he was still driving the team car, for all they knew Reverb could have been destroyed.

"Listen," Karma spoke up, "I know that Lani already said that the comm. devices won't interact with the comm. unit in Reverb, but isn't there a way to rig it somehow?"

Monkey took the comm. device from Nolo and turned it around a few times in his hands. He held it up so it was directly in front of his eyes and stared at it, just stared at it. Flipping the little gadget around, he took the back off of it and began investigating its power source and innards.

Finally, after a few minutes, he shook his head. "The range on this thing isn't very far. Lani and Dr. Tezla must not be to far from us for us to still be able to pick up their signal. The only way we could use this to talk to Vert is if he's within a certain radius from us." The Metal Maniac glanced over to where Shirako was sitting, a few yards from everyone else, his music turned up enough that they could hear it even over here.

"And the cliffs and rock formations around here are going to interfere as well. We won't have a very high percentage rate of being able to contact him, at least not with this thing." Monkey tossed the comm. device back to Nolo.

So that was the end of it, they'd have to wait and see if Vert would show up. There was no way to get a hold of him, no chance of reaching him and seeing if he was ok.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had set about half an hour ago and it seemed to Vert that he had been driving forever. The feeling of loneliness was intensifying and he began to wonder how his friends had fared. Were they ok? Had they made it out of the AcceleDrome without any problems? Had Lani and Dr. Tezla made it out ok too?

These were questions he had no answers too and he desperately wanted answers. He desperately wanted to get home but right now he didn't really know in which direction home was. He still had no clue as to where he was or if he was even going in the correct direction. The only thing he knew for certain was that he needed to continue heading Southwest.

He came upon another sign, read the cities and mileage listed and sighed to himself for about the thousandth time. These cities weren't familiar to him either and gave him no clue as to where he was, and to make matters worse, he was running low on fuel and had no money.

A car passed by him, no, actually it blew past him, giving the impression that he was sitting still. Right behind that car came another, blowing past him like there was no tomorrow. Someone was in a hurry to get no place fast, or perhaps they knew something he didn't. Or it could be a trap; they could be Silencerz cars in disguise.

Just then, another car came zooming past, hot on the bumpers of the first two. Vert glanced down at his speedometer and noticed that he wasn't exactly doing the speed limit himself. Yet these three cars had blown past him like it was an everyday occurrence, they'd made passing him look relatively easy.

He watched as two more cars came speeding up on his bumper, swerved over into the passing lane and were gone before he even had the time to blink. Paying a bit more attention to these last two cars he was able to identify them. The first had been a modified Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII; the second had appeared to be a Toyota Supra, not as modified as the Lancer.

What would be the possibility of the Silencerz sending five cars out after him and if it were them, wouldn't they have tried forcing him off the road, or attempt to follow him in the very least? These cars didn't even seem remotely interested in him, hadn't even tried coaxing him into a race, like most street racers were want to try.

Making up his mind, he decided it wouldn't hurt to follow them. He was lost as it was, a few miles off the beaten path wouldn't matter, now would it? Besides, maybe they could help him out; tell him where he was and which way he should be heading to get home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was the leader of this particular street racing gang, a young woman of about 18 with long strawberry blond hair that reached down almost to the small of her back. Her eyes were a mysterious shade of blue, the colors always shifting depending on the lighting and her particular mood. She was a capable leader and wasn't at all afraid to get her hands dirty, always willing to do the work on her own car, but if it was something beyond her range of knowledge, she also wasn't afraid to allow someone else to do the work.

She carried herself with a cool elegance that brooked no debate; what she said goes, and there were no questions asked. The rest of her crew followed her without reservations, trusting completely in her instincts and decisions.

She went by the name of Trinity, a cool, composed leader that had only lost a few races in her two short years on the racing scene. She was by no means the best and knew there was always room for improvement, at least with the right teacher. She hadn't found that teacher yet, thought she had once, but that just didn't pan out in the end.

She was at the moment inspecting the underneath of her hood, a finger steadily grazing a path across a hot hose, searching for the break that had caused a decrease in power. With eyes trained on the offending hose she stooped down further to investigate, finally discovering the small rupture that had spewed forth the steam and vapor earlier. With a small smile spreading across her frosted lips, she pulled a roll of what looked like electrical tape from her back pocket. From her other pocket she pulled a small tube of sealant.

"Never leave home without it," she said as she placed the small black roll of tape on the front fender. Unscrewing the cap from the sealant, she applied a small amount to the rupture. Once she was sure that the sealant had worked its way into the small break she picked the roll of tape up. "This should mend things up until I can get that replaced," she said as she ripped a small portion off of the roll. With a quick flick of her wrist, she wrapped the tape around the break. "Or at least until I can get you to the garage."

"We got a crasher," she heard one of her other teammates call out.

Glancing up from where she was just finishing with her minor repair, she watched as a strange blue car pulled up along side of her cousin Courtney's Toyota Supra. She didn't recognize the car, hadn't seen it around at all, and she was positive if she had, she'd remember. With a soft bang, she shut the hood to her Lancer and turned her undivided attention to the stranger.

The car rolled to a stop, sitting parallel with the Supra. Courtney was sitting on the hood of her car, one leg dangling down in front of the driver's wheel well, the other leg bent so that her chin was resting on her knee. Her long ashen blond hair fell in waves and ringlets down her back, a few stray stands obscuring her vision as they waved in the gentle breeze across her face. Her emerald green eyes held a spark of interest as the car came to a complete stop, no less then a foot and a half from her own car.

Courtney was sorely tempted to get down from her perch and go over and give the stranger a piece of her mind. The Atomic Winds did not often get time to themselves, there always seemed to be a rival group that wanted a piece of them. When they finally did get a night to themselves, they wanted to enjoy it without having someone crash their alone time. Which this jerk seemed to decide to do.

She watched as her cousin and best friend walked toward the stranger, who had yet to get out of their car. There was a strange gleam in her cousin's ocean blue eyes, as if she were excited about the notion of giving the crasher a fond farewell. Trinity glanced toward Courtney and the blonde's eyebrows raised in silent questioning.

Trinity shook her head, indicating she would deal with this interloper in her own way and needed no help from anyone else. Courtney just nodded her head, silently allowing her cousin to know that she understood the silent order. She glanced over at their three other teammates and smiled, she received smiles back and knew that they were also waiting for the show that was about to begin.

Trinity walked up to the unknown blue car and leaned against the front quarter panel, right in front of the driver's door. "Hey, listen, I don't know who you are or who you think you are, but you can't just crash any party you damn well please. This is by invitation only and for some odd reason, I don't think you got one."

The driver side door swung out and up, similar to the style of a Ferrari or Lamborghini and made Trinity back up in a hurry, not expecting it. Her blue eyes narrowed in annoyance, figuring that this guy was showing off. Not that it was going to get him any points.

Sure, he had a pretty awesome car, but that didn't mean much if you didn't know how to use what was underneath that hood. Plus, just 'cause you have a cool car don't mean you can go crashing other people's parties, it just didn't work that way around here.

"Listen buddy," her voice had begun to grow dark with anger, "You need to just pack it up and go back where you came from."

A cat's screech was heard from one of the other drivers and Trinity turned to regard them for a moment. It was Courtney's on again off again boyfriend, he was only allowed to tag along 'cause of Courtney and once things hit the fan and stayed that way, he'd be out of the group permanently. She eyed him for a moment before glowering and indicating with a mere expression that he should remain silent. Her eyes said all that needed to be said.

The smile that had been on his face quickly disappeared and he suddenly found something of immense interest in the hood of his Dodge Neon. He didn't meet her eyes again and she took this as her cue to return her attention to the party crasher.

"You've got five seconds to get yourself outta here or we'll run you out ourselves. Your choice."

Vert couldn't help the smile that crossed his face or the chuckle that escaped his throat. He couldn't believe his luck.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't think he's gonna show," Nolo said, his voice sounding rather despondent. They had been waiting for hours for Vert to show, but so far there had been no sign of him. Several cars had passed, but none of them looked like Reverb or sounded like anything a Teku would drive.

"We don't know that, we don't even know where he's at," Tork pointed out, but he was feeling the same gnawing agitation that the rest of the Metal Maniacs and Teku were feeling. They were beginning to loose hope and that was not a good thing. You never gave up on a teammate, even if they were from an opposing team.

"Maybe he returned to the AcceleDrome," Monkey spoke up, trying to put a glimmer of hope into the situation. "Maybe he figured we'd be looking for him there."

"Could be," Taro agreed, but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice.

They had no idea where Vert was at, where the Wheel had put him out at. They didn't even know if he was in the state or on another continent. For all they knew, he could be in Australia!

"We have to believe he's trying to get back to us, we can't give up hope." Karma spoke up, but even she was feeling the sense of dread that was eating at each of their hearts. She glanced towards Shirako, he hadn't said two words since they had gotten there, he didn't even seem to be paying attention to what was going on.

Like usual, his headphones were turned up and the rest of the world was tuned out.

Wylde walked toward him, a mischievous grin plastered on his face and Karma had a sudden feeling that Shirako was going to be participating in things whether or not he wanted to.

Shirako glanced up just in time to see Wylde's hand come down. Within seconds Shirako's source of music was gone and he was assaulted by the sounds of the real world. He stared in stunned silence at the Metal Maniac, not sure if he should be downright mad or irate about having his headphones so rudely taken away.

He settled for irate as a flash of anger crossed his face. Within seconds he was up and in Wylde's face, their noses just inches from one another.

"Thought you might want to join in on the discussion, but it's kinda hard for you to if you're listening to that shit you call music." Wylde said, a smirk replacing the grin on his face.

"Whatever," Shirako said and hit a button on the remote on his wrist. He stared in stunned silence when nothing happened, then a look of dejection crossed his face as he remembered that Bassline was still in the Drones' headquarters.

"Won't work this time," Wylde said, a look of satisfaction crossing his face. "At least we won't hafta listen to that crap. That techno shit becomes rather boring after a while, all it seems ta do is repeat, repeat and repeat some more." He looked toward Tork and the rest of the Metal Maniacs, "You Teku need to get something with more beat and variation to it, like the music we listen to."

Shirako snorted and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "So says you," was all he said and returned to his seat on the side of the road, his back leaning against the guard rails.

Wylde rolled his eyes; he'd never really heard the Teku say much, not even when he was in Bassline. A few complete sentences and that was about it, most everything else was 'Cool' or 'Yo'. "Can you even actually speak English Teku?"

Shirako glanced up at him and smiled, "Of course I can and I'd have to say a lot better than you can."

Wylde rolled his eyes and couldn't believe he had walked into that all by himself. "Whateva," was the only response given.

Tork figured that Wylde had had his fun, "Wylde, leave Shirako alone, we've got better things to worry about at the moment."

"Like Vert," Nolo added.

"He's fine," Kurt said, but he didn't feel very convinced.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The guy stepped out of the car, his helmet still in place and hiding his identity. Trinity figured this was due to the fact that he was unwelcome and had intruded where he wasn't wanted. She heard what oddly sounded like a laugh come from behind the face shield and one of her eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Care to let me in on what you think is so funny?" She asked, allowing her agitation to add a degree of coldness to her voice.

"Just as brash and outspoken as usual, huh Trinity?" He asked and watched in satisfaction as her mouth dropped in surprise and her eyes became as wide as saucers.

_Somehow, this guy knew her!_

_Well, here's the second chapter to the story since everyone that reviewed made it rather clear that I should continue. Hope you liked it as well as the first chapter. Chapter 3 is already complete as is Chapter 4, they just need to be tweaked a bit and then maybe you'll get to read those in a timely manner, that's if you still want me to continue this._

_I'd like to thank the five people that were kind enough to review; your reviews were greatly appreciated. To Alexandria Scherazade I have a special comment, yes perhaps Vert could've used the EDR, but there would be no telling exactly where it would put him out at with the AcceleDrome being destroyed. Plus, I liked the idea of Vert being lost and not having a clue where he's at. It just added drama to the mix._


	3. Death Lies All Around Us

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: Again, this is in chapter 1.

Summary: Vert discovers whether or not the gang of racers he's happened upon are friend or foe and learns a little something about Shirako that shocks him. But is everything he's learning truth or lies made up for someone else's benefit?

Author's Note &Warning: This chapter was completely rewritten and hence that was why it took so long for it to be posted. Death is spoken of later on in the chapter as Vert discovers the fate of one of his cousins. You've been given a few subtle hints as to things that may occur later in the story, the thing is, will you be able to pick up on them and figure out exactly how things are going to play out.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 3: Death Lies All Around Us

"Care to let me in on what you think is so funny?" She asked, allowing her agitation to add a degree of coldness to her voice.

"Just as brash and outspoken as usual, huh Trinity?" He asked and watched in satisfaction as her mouth dropped in surprise and her eyes became as wide as saucers.

_Somehow, this guy knew her!_

The question was: How? Was he from a rival team, sent to spy on the Atomic Winds? Or was he just a stranger up to no good and had heard about her from someone? It was a question she was determined to get some answers to.

"Listen," she said coldly, her eyes narrowing in anger and suspicion. "I don't know how you know me, let alone my name, but you'd better come up with some good answers within a coupla seconds or you're going to be saying hi to my fist."

She was angry, far angrier than Vert ever recalled his cousin being. She had always been brash and outspoken, but never this ruthless. She had never been this mean. This was a side of her he had never seen before and it was a side he was really beginning to dislike.

He turned his full attention on his cousin, noticing that the gentle sparkle that had once been in her strange blue eyes was no longer there. It had been replaced by something cold and uncaring, something that appeared alien on this girl he knew to be as gentle as a spring's rain. This was not the Trinity Wheeler he remembered. This was not the Trinity that had tagged along with him at every available opportunity until she had moved almost eight years ago.

He had seen her during those eight years and she had always been how he remembered. She had been spirited and energetic, always could be found in grease stained pants and shirt, her hair in a messed pony tail and dirt smudged on her face. This was not the girl he remembered.

This girl was cold and heartless, her eyes spoke volumes. Something had changed her and it had been something drastic. His eyes moved over the rest of the racers assembled. He spotted Courtney, her long blond hair falling to almost the middle of her back, her emerald green eyes regarding him with speculation. He did not however see Serena, Trinity's twin sister. The two were almost inseparable, except for when it came to Vert.

Serena had had an interest in cars, but not to the extent that Trinity had had. Serena liked racing cars, she just didn't like getting her hands dirty, that she always left to her sister. If it needed fixed, she'd go to Trinity, she was not one to work on her own car.

He glanced around some more, looking for Serena's Chevy Cobalt, but it was not to be found. Then again, the car Trinity was driving wasn't familiar to him either. His gaze moved back to his cousin, her eyes had darkened to almost midnight pitch. Her anger was clear.

"You listenin' to me?" She inquired, her voice as glacial as the Antarctic. A frown was etched around her mouth, her hands on her hips as she stared coldly at him. She was growing impatient and by the looks of it she was seriously debating lying him out flat.

"Where's Serena?" He finally asked. He couldn't figure out why they'd be running without her. Trinity, Serena and Courtney had always ran together, ever since they had started racing.

There was a collective gasp from the whole crew and Trinity blinked in surprise. If it was even possible, her eyes hardened even more and the corners of her lips dipped down even further in a frown.

Without warning Vert suddenly found himself doubled over, pain radiating out from his gut. She'd hit him, and hard. "You son of a b-" he heard her start to yell, her voice rising each second in her anger.

She came at him again, but her team was there to hold her back. Courtney quickly placed herself between the irate Trinity and Vert who was still trying to find his breath. He'd never realized that his cousin packed such a hard punch. He told himself silently that he'd better remember that little bit of info for a later date, just in case he should happen to piss her off again.

"Trin, calm yourself." Courtney was saying, her hands placed on her cousin's shoulders, her face just inches from Trinity's. "Trying to take this guy out isn't going to change anything, nothing at all." She turned around momentarily to throw Vert a glare, then returned her attention to her still fuming cousin. "I'll deal with him. You just go and chill out in Bass Assault for a few; I'll handle everything and then send this pompous ass on his way."

"You should just let me deal with him…" Trinity growled, her face still a mask of anger. If looks could kill Vert would be six feet and then some under at the moment.

Courtney shook her head, knowing that all reason had flown out the proverbial window. If Trinity was allowed to deal with this guy, he'd end up in the same boat as Serena had, and that couldn't and wouldn't be a good thing. "I'll deal with him; you're in no shape to now."

She gestured toward the two males of their group, indicating that they should take Trinity to her car and make sure she stayed there until this guy was gone. Even then, Trinity would be going no where, Bass Assault would be grounded for a few hours until there was no chance of Trinity attempting to follow this guy.

She watched in silence as Jon Ryder and Mikey Douglass escorted Trinity to her car, then turned momentarily to look at Leti Kwan. The Asian girl nodded in understanding and went to her own car, the yellow Mustang sitting at the end of the lined up cars. Then Courtney turned her attention to the stranger, determined that she would get answers and find out exactly how this guy knew of Trinity and Serena Wheeler.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"I'm positive now that Vert isn't going to show up," Nolo said softly. It was nearing midnight and still there had been no sign of their missing teammate and everyone was beginning to show signs of their worry. _Midnight? _Nolo silently wondered, it could be past midnight for all he knew. The moon was obscured by clouds that had suddenly filled the dark skies, a storm threatening to spill its unleashed fury on those below.

Karma sighed, trying to maintain the optimism of the group, but it was something that was becoming harder and harder to do. "We have to believe that he's trying to get back here to us." Her blue eyes turned up to regard the threatening dark clouds. It would start to rain soon and they couldn't be standing here in the wide open the way they were. Some would surely become sick if they did. "Perhaps he did go to what's left of the AcceleDrome. Maybe he came here first, didn't find us and went back there."

"Maybe," Taro agreed, but even he had his doubts. If that was the case, wouldn't they have passed him on their way here? Surely they would have passed each other at some point, but then again, who was to say? It was just like two ships passing in the night, there was no guarantee on anything, and when it came to the Teku and Metal Maniacs, that rule was intensified fourfold.

"I say we head back to the AcceleDrome and wait there. Vert'll have to show up at some point. Maybe he ran into some trouble and it's taking him a while to get where he wants to be." Nolo finally spoke up and waited to see if anyone would disagree with his suggestion.

Everyone nodded their heads, being in the Sweeper at the moment would be a lot better than being stuck out in the rain.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Courtney turned cold emerald green eyes to the stranger, her anger nearly as volatile as that of her cousin's. Serena's name had not been brought up in the past three weeks, not since the accident that had claimed her life; the accident that Trinity still blamed herself for, even though there was nothing that she could've done to prevent it.

"You've got five seconds to start talking, iffin' I don't like what you're saying, you'll be wishing you never met up with the Atomic Winds. Clear?" She asked, standing just a few feet from Vert.

Vert stared at her for a split second, noticing the changes in her as well. She was normally shy and didn't talk much, at least until she got to know you. She never use to stick up for herself, she was too timid and afraid to do so.

"Courtney, what happened?" He finally asked. "Where is Serena? Did something happen?"

He noticed the pupils of her green eyes dilate in surprise as he called her by name. Then her eyes narrowed in anger as she took a step closer to him, her hands clenched into fists. She still didn't have a clue who he was and apparently he was walking thin ice at the moment.

Neither one of them had ever been this cold hearted before. They were always happy to meet new people, challenge other racers to see who was the best. He was confused by their behavior, by their treatment of someone who they could possibly show up. This wasn't them at all.

"You've got some nerve buddy, I'll give you that much." She ground out between clenched teeth. She took another step forward so that there was barely even any distance between them. "Hiding behind that helmet so we can't see who you are, 'fraid we'll recognize you or something?"

She glanced back to where Trinity, Jon and Mikey were at. Trinity was sitting in the Lancer; the two boys were standing next to the door to make sure she didn't try anything. "I told you you had five seconds to start explaining. You've done wasted that time by asking me questions. Now my question is: You gonna explain yourself or not?"

Vert sighed, the only way he was going to get answers to his questions was to quit this game he had started. Maybe he should have taken his helmet off in the first place; it would've saved him a whole world of pain to begin with. He reached up, watching as Courtney's eyes opened wide with interest.

A smile crossed her face, happy to know that she had finally won this little game of hidden identity. Now she'd finally find out who this guy was.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Monkey smacked the console of the Sweeper, becoming agitated with the behemoth machine; it just wasn't cooperating with him. "It won't start," he finally said as he turned around to look at Tork and Nolo.

Nolo turned around quickly and yelled down the long passage way to where the Sweeper would generally hold their cars, if they still had them. "Kurt, tell Shirako to get up here, Monkey's having some problems starting this thing up!"

Seconds later Shirako sauntered into the control area of the Sweeper, giving the impression of not being in much of a hurry at all. He glanced at the controls quickly, his dark eyes stopping on a series of switches. With a quick flick of two switches the Sweeper gave a shudder then started up.

"Thanks," Nolo said as Shirako passed by him.

Shirako just simply nodded his head as he passed by. Nolo watched him go for a moment longer then returned his attention back to the Sweeper and its controls. "How quickly can you get us to the AcceleDrome?" He asked.

"Depends how long this rain decides to hold off," Monkey answered, his eyes going up as he looked out of the windshield at the ever darkening storm clouds.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Vert removed his helmet, his blue eyes meeting with Courtney's green. Her eyes held a look of shock in them, then she opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out. She looked like a fish, her mouth gaping open like that and he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his mouth.

She closed her mouth, her eyes still registering her shock and surprise. She glanced back to where Trinity and the others were at, but their attention was on something else. Trinity had her small silver and purple cell phone up to her ear, her attention solely on her conversation. Courtney was surprised that Trinity actually received a signal all the way out here.

"Are you going to tell me what got Trin so riled up when I asked where Serena was at?" Vert asked, drawing Courtney's attention back to him.

She looked at him for a moment and a flash of pain crept into her eyes, "You honestly don't know, do you?" She asked softly.

"Know what?" He asked, feeling that he was going to receive another punch to the gut in a few moments.

Courtney regarded him for a few seconds before she finally spoke, her voice so soft that he had to lean closer just to hear her. "She died three weeks ago Vert. I thought you would've been told."

Vert stared at her, his mind registering shock on what he had just been told. Was this some sort of sick game? A morbid joke? It couldn't be true, could it? "How?" he finally asked, his voice almost as soft as hers.

Courtney indicated for them to go to the back of Reverb, where they could lean against the car's trunk. "You honestly don't know?" She asked as she leaned back against the blue body of the car. "No one told you?"

"No," he said quietly, "I've been gone for awhile. Today is the first time I've seen dad in a few months and we really didn't have time to talk. I was heading out as he was coming in." It wasn't totally an out and out lie. "What happened?"

Courtney sighed and wondered exactly where to start. "Trinity and Serena were challenged to a race by one of our rivals. It was raining…we'd told them not to race, it was too dangerous. You know Trinity, she wouldn't listen to reason. On that day, neither would Serena." She glanced up into the clear night sky, her mind wondering to that awful night three weeks ago.

"Serena was racing Cobalt Blue, like normal. Bass Assault was in the garage, it'd busted a piston and the part needed to be ordered in…there had been a lot of damage done to the engine." She seemed to be rambling, trying to avoid the real topic, as if not mentioning it made it less real.

She turned to look at Vert, "Trin was running Wyldfyre, it was the car's first time out…only time out. It was a complete custom job Pontiac Sunfire…she was absolutely in love with the car. Anyhow, they didn't listen to any of us when we told them they shouldn't be racing.

"It was a dangerous road, a bunch of turns and switchbacks. The slick, wet surface added to the danger, made it ten times worse. We tried telling them, but neither one would listen. They insisted their tires were made for just this sort of weather condition, in truth they were, they were aqua treads, but they weren't made for the speeds they were going to be traveling.

"The tires wouldn't be able to hold their grip going over 140 miles per hour. It just wasn't feasible." Courtney suddenly went silent, her eyes turned downward as she gazed at the dirt and gravel beneath their feet.

"They crashed?" Vert asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

Courtney looked up at him, her face contorted in anger, her eyes blazing with hate. Vert took a step back, surprised at the sudden change in his cousin.

"No, we didn't crash," he heard Trinity's voice from behind him. "We were forced off the road. Serena's car hit head on into a tree. I forced her into the tree-"

"It was an accident," Courtney spoke up, defending her cousin against her own guilt. "You had no control over your car, neither one of you did. You said so yourself, there was nothing you could've done."

"We should've listened to the rest of you, we shouldn't have been racing." Trinity said, her voice full of the guilt she was feeling once more as that night replayed once more through her mind's eye.

Vert turned to face Trinity, his arms instantly going around her as he witnessed the pain and anger etched on her face. She clung to him, her hands fisting in the fabric of his jumpsuit. "I should have listened to them, we shouldn't have been racing, at least not while the roads were still wet, not while it was raining," she mumbled into his chest.

"How did it happen? How were you forced off the road?" He asked, having to know how his cousin had died.

Trinity looked up at him, her eyes watery with her unshed tears. She refused to cry anymore, it was a show of weakness and she refused to be seen as weak. "It all happened so fast Vert, so very fast. One moment we were heading down the road, totally dominating the track. The other two cars were way behind us, they had no chance of catching us before we hit the finish line. The next thing I know, I'm spinning out of control.

"I couldn't see where Serena was at; everything was flying by to quickly. I kept seeing the other cars' headlights, then trees, then headlights…over and over. Then my car slammed into something, it was Cobalt Blue. My spinning stopped, but I was adding momentum to Serena's skid, then all movement stopped and Cobalt Blue was…" she couldn't continue, didn't want to remember that fateful night.

"She hit the tree head on, paramedics said she died instantly. The force of the blow snapped her neck, there was no chance for her to survive that wreck, her safety harness had malfunctioned and gave way." Courtney explained, her voice strained. "Trinity had to be cut from her car, but her injuries were far less serious. She got away with a few scrapes and bruises; of course Wyldfyre was completely destroyed."

"You said you were forced off the road?" Vert asked. He didn't understand how that was possible if the other two cars were way behind them.

"Yeah," Trinity said as she looked up at him, her eyes hardening. "It was like the guy was waiting for us, just sitting there and waiting for us to come around that turn. He came out from no where and nailed my back bumper. He sent me into the spin, the spin that caused me to hit Serena."

"It was a white truck," Courtney said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and closed her eyes for a moment. "We saw it blow past us a few minutes after the wreck. It was moving like a bat out of hell, a hell of a lot faster than any of our cars can manage, and ours ain't slow."

"A white truck?" Vert asked.

"Yeah, we'd never seen it before and haven't seen it since. It's like it just up and disappeared. We've asked a few of the other teams and none of them have ever seen it either. It's like it doesn't exist or something, but I know it does." Trinity said, her voice rising with what almost seemed hysterics.

Was it possible Trinity had imagined the truck, made it up to take heat off of herself for wrecking her own sister's car? Had her mind conjured it up so it didn't have to deal with what she had done? If that was so, it didn't explain why the others had seen it a few minutes later.

Plus, there was the fact that there had to be hundreds of white trucks driving on the roads. How would they recognize a single one amongst maybe thousands? He looked at his cousins, wondering if he should voice his concerns or not. They had already been through so much, he didn't need to add to it.

It seemed though that Courtney was reading his mind for him, for she suddenly looked at him and answered his question without him even having to voice it. "When we first started asking about the truck, we received basically the same answer from everyone. There's thousands of white trucks driving in the city and its outlying areas.

"This wasn't no ordinary truck though; my guess is there's not another one around like it. It's a custom job, like most of our cars."

Vert looked at his cousin, silently encouraging her to go on. If it was a custom job maybe he'd seen it at some point, though the probability of that occurring was probably astronomical; what would be the possibility of him seeing a truck that had caused an accident in Wyoming after all? He lived in California, he didn't think the odds were very high that he'd seen this truck, but you never knew.

"I caught a brief glimpse of the front end before it took me off the road. It was a solid white truck with what appeared a symbol of some sort on its hood. The symbol was mainly done in an orangish type color with shades of blue shot through. There may have been something else below the symbol, but I couldn't really tell." Trinity explained.

Courtney nodded her head, "We had a better view of it as it raced past. It was most definitely a custom job, and a nicely done one too. The truck was solid white with orange decals along the side of the door and partially up along the back sides of it. Like Trin said, there were shades of blue shot throughout the orange, but the most noticeable thing about the truck was its six speaker set up."

"You could see inside the truck?" Vert asked, surprised that they'd be able to notice the inside of the vehicle with it passing by at a high rate of speed.

"No," Courtney answered, "the speakers were set up in the back of the truck. Someone had spent time and money on this truck."

"It had a spoiler on it too, something I'm not really use to seeing on trucks. Nothing at all like the spoilers you see on the racing trucks of the Craftsman Trucks, this was a spoiler meant for street racing, one like we'd put on our own cars." A male voice said from behind him. Vert turned around and noticed that the three other drivers had joined them and were looking at him with varying degrees of interest.

"The driver was sitting on the right side too, instead of on the left like normal." The only remaining female of the crew said, her dark eyes studying him intently. She was of some sort of Asian decent Vert noticed; her hair dark just like her eyes. It was long with what appeared to be blue highlights and was up in a pony tail, the ends reaching to just below her shoulders.

Vert looked from one of his cousins to the other, his insides tying themselves up in knots. The truck they had described…its description matched perfectly to the only truck he knew built for racing.

Bassline. They had described Bassline.

But the timing of the accident, it all didn't add up. Three weeks ago Bassline was just being finished, there was no way that Shirako could've been here, let alone wrecked Trinity's car, causing her to take out Serena.

There was something missing. The puzzle wasn't complete, a piece was missing from it and until it was discovered the truth of the matter wouldn't be exposed.

Unless Bassline had a twin out there, but what were the chances of that?

_And so that brings us to the conclusion of Chapter 3. I've been trying my best to keep this as in character as possible, but it's not always an easy thing to do. Trinity I will attempt to keep from stealing the spot light, which shouldn't be to hard 'cause she's not going to give a lot of the others any reason to like her. There will be a lot of antagonism between she and Shirako and she'll constantly be out…well, I can't give you to much info on what's going to happen. Anyhow, leave a review and let me know what you think. Should it be continued or do you think I should just stop with it while I'm ahead. _

_I hope you enjoyed and if you can figure out exactly what's going to happen or think you can, don't be afraid to toss your ideas around. If you're lucky, I just might let you know if you're right or wrong._

_Now onto the thank yous:_

_Alexandria Scherazade- I'm so glad you like and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last._

_Luna- I'm trying my best to keep Trinity and Courtney both from becoming the typical Mary Sues, but it is always easier said than done, but Trinity has her secrets that will eventually put her at odds with the Teku and Maniacs, so I think for the most part she's not going to be a very well liked character in the beginning. I think you'll also like Ultimate Race once you get to see it, I know both my son and I enjoyed it. I honestly think I've watched it more than he has!_

_Angel of Forgotton Souls: Yes, Vert knows the PrimaDonna, lol, not exactly what I would describe her as, but hey, it works._

_KTezla: Glad you like, and unfortunately yes I can classify myself as being an adult. Though most that know me would most definitely say I do not act my age. I kept writing so hopefully you are still reading!_

_KawaiiYamato: Well, I've updated and hopefully you update yours soon. Yeah, I know you just did, but I want to know exactly what is wrong with Shirako…I seem to have an obsession with him as well…it's always the quiet ones that draw you in. _

_Dark672: Thanks for the little info on the EDR and Sparky…speaking of Sparky I should probably incorporate him into the story at some point in time. I keep meaning to but keep forgetting 'bout him._

_C-Chan: thank you very much for the compliment. I'm glad you like and I'm not entirely sure about it being one of the best, but hey, I'll take the praise if you feel like giving it. Thanks again._

_Jumper Prime: Yeah, I haven't forgotten about the whole thing with Vert, the Silencerz and Sparky…I need to add him in at some point, but keep forgetting. Hopefully next chapter…hopefully._

_Zero Lement: Yeah, probably right, but who knows. I know I certainly don't._

_Thanks to all who reviewed, it is greatly appreciated. _


	4. Go Fish and Strip Poker!

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: Still, as before, disclaimed in Chapter 1, hasn't changed.

Summary: It's time to spend a little time with the rest of the racers and see exactly what the Teku and Maniacs have been up to.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 4: Go Fish and Strip Poker!

The Metal Maniacs and Teku were stranded within the belly of the Sweeper, the rain pelting the outside of the great green and black contraption. It was almost impossible to see the nose of the great beast, let alone to attempt to drive it in the rainy conditions. They had decided it was better to try their luck at being sealed within it than trying to drive it and crash it into some unknown.

Perhaps they should have tried their luck at driving it instead. You could only stand so much of playing a child's game after all.

"I'm not playing again," Nolo groused. They'd been playing Go Fish for the past hour or so, just to pass the time until the storm decided to cease its deluge. He most definitely was _not_ playing that damn game again! It was a kid's game for Heaven's Sake and he was not going to play it for one more single minute. He'd had enough of listening to Monkey cry out happily: 'Go Fish!'. There was only so much a guy could take, and he'd reached his limit.

He glanced around at the gathered faces. Kurt was sitting to his left and Shirako was sitting to his right. Shirako seemed all but interested in the game, his head bopping up and down in rhythm to his music, which surprisingly for once was not up full blast. Karma was sitting on the other side of Kurt; she had a look on her face that implied severe boredom. Apparently he wasn't the only one that was growing sick of the game.

On Karma's other side sat Pork Chop, his eyes seemed to be staring off in space. Apparently most of those gathered were growing tired of the children's game. On Pork Chop's other side sat Monkey, he seemed to be the only one not in the least bit annoyed by the game; he was actually enjoying himself! To Monkey's right sat Taro, who looked for the most part like he was about to fall asleep; his eyes kept dipping shut then he'd jerk and look around to see if anyone had noticed. Next to him sat Wylde, who had a grin plastered on his face, as if he were enjoying the annoyance the rest were feeling. Between Wylde and Shirako sat Tork, who kept flexing his muscles and scowling at the cards he held in his hand. He looked like he was about ready to eat his cards just to get rid of them.

"Got a better idea?" Kurt asked, Nolo could tell by the expression on his teammate's face that Kurt was indeed hoping he did. Apparently Kurt was growing as tired of Go Fish as Nolo himself was. As mostly all of them were…with the exception of Monkey.

"How 'bout Strip Poker?" Wylde asked, the grin spreading further across his face. Well, apparently it wasn't totally the annoyance the rest were feeling that had Wylde looking like the proverbial cat that just ate the canary.

There was the resounding slap of skin hitting skin. Apparently Karma hadn't liked that idea for she'd reached across the space separating them and had slapped Wylde. "You're even crazier than I thought if you think I'd agree to that!" she ground out between clenched teeth. "Surely we can come up with something other than _Strip_ Poker!" Anything would be better than that. _How come she had to be the only female in the group at the moment? Where was Lani when you needed her anyhow?_

"If ya got a better idea we're listenin'," Wylde responded, his smirk still in place.

Karma threw her hands up in the air, a sigh escaping from her lips. "Honestly, I'm surrounded by a bunch of morons!" She said, her voice edged with agitation. "There's no way in hell I'm taking any of my cloths off with you idiots around."

"Not even for a certain Metal Maniac?" Kurt whispered, his face just mere inches from her ear. Now he was wearing a grin to match that of his brother. It was at times like these that the family resemblance could be seen, to the point that it was uncanny.

Karma turned to glare at her teammate, debating whether or not she should slap him as well. Then she quickly looked around, checking to see if anyone else had heard what Kurt had said. Everyone else seemed oblivious, wallowing in their own boredom and annoyance.

Her eyes sought out Taro momentarily, but he was as uninterested in what was going on around him as the rest. They were all becoming edgy and restless, tired of being cooped up within the Sweeper. The only one who seemed to be paying attention to her and Kurt was Wylde, who still wore that grin that she was really bent on beating from his face.

Then she noticed something that had a feeling of dread welling up within the pit of her stomach. Everyone was listening, all be it very discreetly. Everyone's eyes were focused on anything but her and Kurt, but they had their heads turned so that they could hear what was being said. She seriously didn't know who she was going to kill first at that moment, Kurt or his brother. Could she possibly kill two birds with one stone?

With her luck at the moment, not very likely; one of them would manage to escape her claws somehow.

"Well?" Wylde asked, his eyes holding a gleam of mischief.

"Well what?" Karma responded, her thoughts turning dark and murderous.

"Ya got a better idea than Strip Poker?" He drawled.

She just glared at him, her mind working on a come back. Anything to wipe that grin off of his face that he was still wearing. But what? Finally she sighed, "No, I don't. But I'm not playing Strip Poker with the bunch of you. That just ain't happenin'." She ground out, her anger coloring her voice all sorts of red.

"Ya really know how to spoil the party, don't ya?" Wylde drawled, his eyes still gleaming with mischief. "I bet ya wouldn't have a problem with it if it were just you and T-" He begun, only to receive a death glare from the female Teku driver.

"Finish that sentence and you _are_ going to die a very painful and quite slow death. You might want to rethink what you were going to say." Wylde just stared at her, she could tell by the look in his eyes he was trying to decide if she were being serious or just bluffing.

There was a sudden sound of snapping from the far corner, like electricity crackling. "I thought you'd turned that walking pile of bolts off," Wylde groaned, the mischievousness gone from his eyes to be replaced by a look of pained annoyance.

Monkey was up in an instant, all thoughts of the game gone from his mind in a flash. He headed toward the back of the Sweeper where Sparky was standing, once in a while flashes of electrical currents arcing into the air. "I was uploading a new program, seeing if maybe he could give us a little more information on what happened to Vert; where he might be."

"That bucket of bolts couldn't tell his head from a hole in the ground, how's it going to tell us where Vert ended up?" Wylde asked, watching as Monkey started to play around with a grouping of wires that was running from the makeshift robot to a strange looking contraption at its feet.

"With this new program he just may be able to do just that," Monkey answered, his attention mainly on his creation.

"What, tell his head from a hole in the ground?" Wylde questioned. He couldn't resist the mocking tone that had made its way into his voice. Picking on Monkey was almost as fun as picking on Karma.

"No, tell us where Vert's at." Monkey answered as he turned around momentarily to regard Wylde.

"I think Wylde's the one who can't tell his head from a hole in the ground," Karma whispered as she leaned over closer to Kurt.

Wylde turned angry eyes toward Karma, but now she was wearing an innocent expression, her eyes gazing at him in curiosity. "What?" She asked as if she had not a clue why he was glaring at her.

"I heard that," he replied succinctly. His eyes were narrowed slightly; it was far more fun to be the one throwing the jabs at everyone else, instead of the other way around.

She smiled sweetly at him, "Perhaps you'd much rather play Strip Poker with Sparky? But then again, that'd be about useless since he doesn't have anything to strip."

"Is it done raining yet?" Wylde asked, diverting the topic of conversation to something far more comfortable and so he wasn't getting outsmarted by an outspoken Teku.

_Score one for the home team! _Karma thought to herself in triumph. Her smile widened once she caught Wylde's gaze again, he just continued to glare at her.

"Hello," was heard from the far corner where Monkey was still working on the rebooting pile of junk, as Wylde tended to think of the robot. All eyes turned toward the Maniacs resident mechanic and his metal creation, Wylde continued to frown; a low groan escaping from his throat.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"We're going to have to find a new place to establish a new base of operations. A new AcceleDrome…someplace that the Drones will not think of looking." Dr. Tezla said as his purple shaded glasses slipped down to the end of his nose. "Somewhere that no one will think of looking." He was thinking mainly of the Silencerz, the Drones couldn't possibly be a threat anymore, not now that Gelorum was destroyed. But would the Silencerz be a problem, now that their undercover agent Gig had been destroyed along with the AcceleDrome? There was now no way they could remain a step ahead of him in his research, they had no one on the inside anymore.

Lani glanced over at him, her eyes focusing on him for a few seconds before returning to the road in front of her. He was obsessed, beyond a doubt; the question was, would the drivers agree to drive for him anymore. He'd proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Racing Realms and the Accelerons were far more important to him than the safety of the drivers.

He hadn't given a care about the drivers that had returned from the Drones headquarters, he'd only been worried about Vert and whether or not the young man was going to be able to beat Gelorum at the end. He hadn't cared when the other drivers had been surrounded by Gelorum's henchmen, hadn't cared that within moments they could all be dead. The only important thing to him was Vert reaching the Sphere before Gelorum did.

Lani gently shook her head and said softly, "What good will it do to establish a new AcceleDrome if you have no drivers?" She continued to watch the road in front of her, debating herself on whether or not she'd remain with him. She wasn't sure if she could continue to work for the man if he allowed his all consuming need to discover what lay beyond the Racing Realms outweigh concern for those that worked for him.

He'd kept so many secrets from the others, secrets from her as well. The fact that Gig had been stolen technology didn't help much. Perhaps if he'd let her in on things that were going on some of what had happened could have been prevented. It was all what ifs though; the past couldn't be changed, not now.

"We have drivers," Dr. Tezla said, his voice sounding slightly frenzied.

"We _had_ drivers. What makes you think they're going to want to continue driving for you when you've put their lives in danger? When you've made it clear countless times that the AcceleChargers and Racing Realms were far more important than their lives? You didn't start to worry about their safety until they started taking AcceleChargers into the Realms with them, and then, the only reason you worried was because _of_ the AcceleChargers. You were worried about loosing them, not the drivers themselves. If the drivers returned unharmed was not of any concern to you.

"Do you really think they're going to want to return to that?" Lani asked, finally looking over at him. He didn't return her gaze, he continued to stare ahead, or turned to look out the window every few seconds. As if he were afraid to meet her gaze, afraid to read in her eyes that what she had said was the truth.

"What we were doing," he finally said, but still refused to look over at her, "was important-"

"What we were doing couldn't have been accomplished without _them_; they were just as important if not more. Before the Teku and Metal Maniacs were recruited, we'd lost how many drivers within the Realms? Even after they were recruited we still lost Kadeem, and almost lost Mar-Wylde as well. If Kurt and Taro hadn't disobeyed you and went into the Realms with the others, there's no telling what may have happened to Wylde." She paused, drawing in a breath, "Do you honestly think they're going to want to come back to that?"

He remained quiet for a few moments, thinking over what she had said. Some of what she said was true, he had put the lives of the drivers on the line, but it was only to discover what was beyond the Realms, to beat the Drones. Now there was the Silencerz to contend with, and they still had a working model of the Wheel of Power. Who was to say they wouldn't make it to the Sphere now?

"Driving is their lives, they'll want to continue, they'll want to go into the Realms again." He finally said. _They'll want to beat the Silencerz_, he silently said to himself.

Lani just looked at him for a second, then gently shook her head. There was no getting through to this man. He couldn't see the wrong in what he was doing, the wrong with how he way playing with the lives of the drivers that worked for him. She honestly hoped that the drivers wouldn't return, what with the AcceleDrome being destroyed.

It would take a while until Dr. Tezla could build a new headquarters, hopefully by that time the drivers would find other things to occupy their times, other careers to pursue. For some odd reason she didn't really see that happening, Dr. Tezla was correct when he had said that racing was their lives.

They would want to get back into the Realms, for the sheer pleasure of seeing who was better. There would be no more competition from the Drones now; the only team they'd have to worry about would be the Silencerz.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Did you get anywhere with it?" Kurt asked as he walked up behind Monkey, who was still tinkering around with Sparky. Karma and Nolo were following along behind him, Nolo watching as Monkey removed a wrench from a tool box he had managed to confiscate from somewhere while Karma kept looking behind her, at the rest of the drivers that were still seated on the floor of the Sweeper. They were no longer playing Go Fish at least; she wasn't entirely sure exactly what game they were playing now.

"I think, maybe…probably, perhaps," Monkey said, his attention still on Sparky. He was tightening a bolt on what could only be called the robot's chest. He put the wrench back down into the tool box and turned around to look at Kurt, Nolo and Karma. "I think maybe now we can get a little more information out of this."

"Has he got a better vocabulary now?" Nolo asked, looking questioningly at the robot. It still looked the same, no different. He couldn't really notice any difference in the contraption.

Monkey turned to regard the leader of the Teku, "No," he finally said. "I've added a sort of upgrade to him. I'm not sure if it'll really work or not."

"What sort of upgrade?" Karma asked, slowly walking around Monkey and Sparky. She carefully scrutinized the strangely put together pile of odd parts. It looked like a reject from some science horror movie gone wrong, or some mad scientist's idea of a horrible creature from the blue lagoon.

"Well, if everything went right," Monkey answered, "Then he should be able to give us a holographic recording of what he and Vert saw, maybe let us know exactly what happened to Vert." He turned his attention to Sparky.

The robot in turn seemed to place its attention on him, electrical sparks flying once in a while as the contraption would shudder. "Sparky," Monkey said, glancing back toward the others as he heard footsteps behind him. The rest of the drivers had come over to see what was going on. "Sparky, can you give us a visual recording of what happened to you and Vert after you went through the Wheel of Power?"

"Hello," Sparky chirped out in that mechanical voice of his. Seconds later a strange greenish glow erupted from his optical sensors. They saw Vert and what appeared to be between three and five floating robots that looked an awful lot like Gig. Reverb's doors suddenly swung open of their own accord and Vert's seatbelt undid itself.

Vert was saying something, but no sound accompanied the visual. "Apparently the sound upgrade didn't install correctly," Monkey said in a sheepish voice, a grin to match it crossing his face. Seconds later there was a flash of light then nothing. A visual of the Highway 35 area suddenly appeared.

"That must've been shortly before we found him," Tork said. As if to prove he was correct, they then saw the Sweeper lumbering into view.

Karma looked over at Nolo and Kurt, "My guess would be that the Silencerz have Vert." She looked back toward Sparky and Monkey.

"Sparky, do the Silencerz have Vert?" Monkey asked. Sparky started jumping up and down, his mechanical arms waving around in the air. "Hello," he repeated over and over.

"I would have to take that as a yes," Kurt said.

Nolo sighed, "With the AcceleDrome destroyed, we have no way of even attempting to rescue him. We can't use the same ploy we used to rescue Wylde."

"We'll figure something out," Tork said, placing a hand on the Teku leader's shoulder. "One way or another, we'll bring Vert home safely." _Yes, one way or another they would bring Vert home safely, one way or another they would think of a way to get into the Silencerz headquarters and rescue their missing friend._

_Well, there's Chapter 4, though it's probably not what you were expecting. It's basically just a filler chapter until I get to the good parts. Though the good parts are still a while in coming, there's still a few obstacles that need to be overcome and then things will start to get more interesting._

_I greatly appreciate the reviews, they make it a lot easier to come up with the next chapters. Helps to figure out exactly what you want to see happen and what you want explained. Keep feeding me the reviews, I love them._

_Now, onto the shout outs…_

_Dark672: I'm glad you think it's good so far, I've had a few problems here and there and any praise is appreciated._

_KawaiiYamato: This probably most definitely wasn't the chapter you were looking forward to, but it adds a slight bit of humor to things. And humor is going to be needed later on down the road. I agree, it's always the quiet ones that get you…grins I wouldn't quite say that _I've_ fallen in love with a cartoon, I think more of it as along the lines of being obsessed. As for what this horrible fate has to do with Shirako, can't give that away just yet. It'd ruin the whole plot line since it plays an integral part in things._

_Southernlady: again, thank you for the praise and I'm very glad that you like it._

_Alexandria Scherazade: I'm glad you really liked the chapter and I definitely plan on continuing. Chapter 5 is already completed and ready to be loaded, but I'm gonna wait a few days to do that, see how well this chapter goes over. As for Shirako and Leti (that's the girl's name) being related, you'll find more information on that in Chapter 5, but it'll still leave a few questions swirling around in the air until Chapter 6._

_Zero Lement: In answer to your question on whether or not the Silencerz are still tailing Vert: they most definitely are. It would be in his best interest to continue moving, they're a hell of a lot closer to him than he thinks. By sitting still for as long as he is talking to his cousins and their friends, let's just say he's inviting trouble right into Reverb._

_KTezla: Awesome? You have no idea how much that simple word means at the moment. I'm so very glad you're enjoying the story and that you're going to continue reading. Young at heart…yes, that most definitely describes me! My mother is constantly telling me to act my age…to which I have got to say that I seldom listen to her. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the previous ones, I can guarantee that things are going to be heating up very quickly._

_Thanks again to those who reviewed!_


	5. Things Just Get Stranger By the Moment

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Summary:

Author's Note: This has been an extremely hard chapter to write, at the moment there is about three unfinished starts on this particular chapter, and five starts to finishes that were discarded. I had a lot of problems with it because there was certain information I wanted included, it was just a problem of putting it in at the right moment and in the right way. You will more than likely be very confused by the time you read the end of this chapter. And of course, all the information I wanted included in this chapter was not put in, it just didn't fit in at the moment and will be added at later chapters.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 5: Things Just Get Stranger By The Moment

Vert watched the Atomic Winds, once Trinity had calmed down and introductions had been made, things seemed to go back to what he believed was normal for his cousins and their group of racers. Trinity was under the hood of Bass Assault, a name he discovered suited the car rather well; the bass installed in the car's systems was an assault on one's hearing. In a contest of systems, he wasn't certain who would win: Trinity's Bass Assault or Shirako's Bassline. Each vehicle packed one hell of a sound system in it.

Trinity stood up, kicking at some dirt as a few rather unladylike curses flew from her mouth. Taking her cell phone from its small holster on her hip, she flipped it open and looked at the time. Vert glanced up into the sky, he figured it had to be somewhere around two or three in the morning. And he was feeling it, he was way beyond tired.

He glanced around at the rest of the figures, some where lounging around in or on their cars while others were doing the same thing as Trinity; hoods popped and heads down underneath checking cables, wiring and hoses.

There were five cars in all, not including Reverb. Courtney's car, the Toyota Supra, sat in the lead spot. There was really nothing special about the Supra, other than its paint and decal jobs, it was not as modified as Trinity's Lancer. Trinity had explained to him earlier that Court was very adamant about letting no one scratch her paint; it was rather expensive and took weeks to fix even a minor scratch. He couldn't understand why she raced the car then.

The Supra's paint job consisted of a three layer ordeal. The underlayer was what some would call a candy coat base, it surfaced in highlights beneath the second layer. The underlayer was a what Trinity had called a lime green candy coat, the layer on top of it was a Candy Apple red, with the green tinting through in the right light. The top layer was a pearlescent coat, adding an extra sheen to the car. A simple scratch required all three layers to be redone, and that's why it took weeks for it to be fixed. This led to the particular reason of why Courtney was very specific of where her car was parked and who was allowed to be near it. There would be no unwanted incidents on her watch, ever!

Decals had been added as well and they depicted a phoenix rising from flames on the side of the car. The flames started at the back of the car and the phoenix encompassed the whole side of the car, right up to where its crane-like head swept up onto the hood. Each side showed the same depiction of the phoenix. On the rear window was a decal that had Street Thunder in scripted bright red letters. On the front windshield was Atomic Winds in a strange purple with silver sparkles inlayed into the decal.

Courtney's outfit complimented her car perfectly. She wore a red jacket with a phoenix across the front of it, the legendary bird bisected by the zipper on the jacket. Beneath the jacket she wore a green t-shirt with Atomic Winds scrawled across it. She wore red slacks with twin green stripes running up the pant legs.

Next to the Supra sat Trinity's car, Bass Assault. This car brought elegance and speed together in one tight package. The original 2.0 liter inline four-cylinder DOHC intercooled-turbocharged engine had been replaced with a Rally Sport Engine, a custom job with a few added details; a Unichip Import Tuner, a blue nitrous purge-cloud illumination kit, an electronic turbo timer and a few other gadgets that Vert couldn't recall.

The car's suspension had been lowered so it sat a few scant inches off the ground, probably sucked royally when going over speed bumps, or any type of bump for that matter. Its windows were as darkly tinted as one could get. On the rear windshield was the car's name, written in bold blue letters. On the front windshield was Atomic Winds, done in the same color scheme as Courtney's Supra; but he had noticed that all five of the cars had Atomic Winds on their front windshields, all done in the same color.

The Lancer's paint was done in a two tone blue; the front half a light blue that darkened halfway back to a midnight blue. The merging from one color to the other was flawless; it was like when day turned into night. There was a silver dragon wrapping around the driver's side of the car, and on the other side of the car was a purple dragon. Behind each of the mythological beasts were strange symbols, done in the same strange purple as the Atomic Winds decals on the front windshield. The bulk of the dragons hid the hieroglyphs so Vert wasn't really certain what they were or if they were in fact symbols or words.

Trinity's outfit also complimented Bass Assault. His cousin wore a simple sleeveless jacket of dark blue with Bass Assault written in bold purple letters across the back. She had on a long sleeve shirt beneath the jacket, the same pale blue as the front end of Bass Assault. Her pants were khaki like with multiple pockets and loose fitting and dark blue like the jacket. Vert had also noticed that along the front of the sleeveless jacket were two dragons, each creeping up to wrap around the neckline. One purple and the other silver, just like on the car.

On the other side of the Lancer sat a black Dodge Neon. From the earlier introductions Vert knew the owner of this car was named Jon Ryder and he was Courtney's on again off again boyfriend. The impression he had gotten from Trinity was that she didn't like the young man very much, infact, from her attitude and facial expressions he figured she hated him.

Jon was a fairly tall young man, standing about an even six feet. His hair was dark red and his complexion was pale because of this. He had freckles across the bridge of his nose and his eyes were a very deep, dark green. Trinity had told Vert that Jon called the Neon Thunderhead, and like with the rest of the cars, the name was scribed across the rear windshield. Apparently though, the rest of the Atomic Winds had another name for the Neon, or perhaps it was really for the driver: Crash and Burn.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the Neon, at least nothing that Vert noticed right off the bat. It looked very ordinary, very stock. It was solid black with a red racing stripe that went up over the hood, over the roof and down onto the trunk. This was the only noticeable thing about the little Neon.

Apparently, neither driver nor car really stood out in a crowd. How the guy had hooked up with the Atomic Winds was beyond Vert. Courtney was the only possible answer.

On the other side of the Neon was an older model Ford Mustang. Vert figured it to be somewhere around or between a '68 or '70. The muscle car was beautiful and none of its modifications took away from its beauty, if anything they added to it. The Mustang was a nice shade of yellow, not like a bright canary yellow but a more laid back mottled yellow. Not quite pastel either. The car was called Powerdyne, and Vert figured that the name probably fit it quite well.

On both sides of the car, red and blue flames erupted from what appeared to be beneath the car, just below the doors. Then they continued on toward the back of the car, until they finally flared up over the trunk, almost seeming to engulf the whole backside of the car.

The driver's name was Leti Orimoto. She was of some Asian descent, as was apparent by her slightly slanted dark eyes. Her hair was long, to almost the middle of her back and was black with what appeared to be blue highlights. Trinity had told him that she never took her hair down; in the many years that she had known the young Asian woman she had never seen her with her hair down.

Leti, like the rest of the group, wore an outfit that matched the detailing of her car. She wore a dark yellow tank top with a baby tee beneath, on the tank top, scripted right across her chest was her car's name. Her pants were black, with a yellow stripe running up each pant leg and at the bottom on the flared boot legs were red and blue flames.. She didn't wear a jacket though, she often complained about it being to hot to do so and was often heard saying that just looking at her teammates made her overheated.

Then situated behind all the cars was a newer model Honda Civic. The car was red and the owner, Mikey Douglas, called it Omega One. There was a picture of a pool stick and a cue ball on the sides of the car and on the hood was a depiction of racked pool balls, in a perfect triangle.

Mikey was of obvious Latino descent, though there was some Caucasian mixed in there somewhere. His eyes were a deep dark shade of brown, like well aged whiskey and his hair was also a dark brown, almost appearing black. He was probably about the same height as Vert, maybe a little taller. His outfit consisted of red and black. He had on a light red jacket with a lighter shade of red t-shirt on beneath. His pants were black and on the ass was a picture of a cue ball.

"You gonna stand there staring at everyone or what?" Courtney asked as she walked up behind him. Last time he had known she was playing with some of the settings on her system, she hadn't liked the way the bass and treble had been harmonizing.

"I was just thinking," he answered as he turned around to face her. "Reminds me of my friends and our cars. I seriously need to get back." He looked off into the distance, wondering exactly what his friends were doing. Did they even know what had happened yet or were they all still in the dark about everything? The only way he would find out is to get back to them.

"How did you manage to get here in the first place? Seems a bit off the beaten path. We don't see much in the way of action here; we normally gotta run to one of the nearby cities to find any competent competition." Courtney said as she regarded him with earnest curiosity. "Most of the other groups around here don't have the horsepower to back their boasting. They're not even worth our time and they know it."

"It's a long story, let's just say I took a wrong turn on our way back from a competition." Vert answered, he felt uncomfortable lying to his own cousin, but it couldn't be helped. He couldn't really reveal the truth of the matter to her, he didn't have a clue how she'd take it. More than likely she'd think he was nuts. Insane Asylum would most likely be her next thought.

"Shoulda had a GPS system installed. Trinity made us all get one for our cars, just in case something like that were to happen." Courtney smiled at him, apparently finding his current predicament rather funny. "Any of them got a cell you can call? Everyone now a days carries a cell." She said this as if it were the truth of the matter. Come to think of it, he had seen each one of the Atomic Winds with a cell phone out at some point in time. In fact, he'd seen Trinity have hers out quite a few times, the light of the moon glinting off of the small silver device.

"Yeah, one of my teammates does," Vert answered. "The only problem is I don't have one with me so him having one don't do me much good." He glanced around once more, taking in his surroundings. The guardrails sitting behind the cars, the steep cliff face on the other side of the road. It reminded him of the Coast Road where the second leg of his adventure had first begun; it seemed so long ago now when he thought about it.

Off in the distance, beyond the river that raged far below the guardrails, he could see the red lights of a cellular tower blinking. There were the lights of houses in the distance as well, and if he looked close enough, once in a while he could discern the headlights of vehicles as they passed on roads that were hidden in the dark. They were far out in the country somewhere, far from the nearest city; about an hour or two, he figured.

"You know your buddy's number?" Courtney questioned, drawing his attention back to her and away from the lights in the distance.

"Shirako's? Yeah, sure, I know it," he answered. He looked at her, giving her a confused expression. "I don't see what good-" he started, just as she threw her own cell phone at him.

"Here, use mine," she said as she turned back to take a detailed look over her car's paint. This was common with her, from what he understood. Trinity had explained that Courtney spent a good three to four hours a day just looking over the paint coat on the car, making certain there were no unwanted scratches or dings.

Vert shook his head as he opened the small flip phone; it was probably one of the tiniest he had ever seen and silver and purple just like Trinity's. He could close the palm of his hand around it and still have room for another. There was the sound of gunning engines and as he looked at the small phone he noticed that the word _Thunder_ was working its way across the screen. _Interesting_, he thought as he glanced up at his cousin; she was still inspecting Street Thunder.

The phone gave out a weird beep and as he looked down at its screen, he noticed it was flashing a low battery message at him. "Um, Court," he said as he walked up behind his cousin. She was bent low next to her Supra, her hand running over an area on the lower part of the driver's door.

She glanced up from her inspection of Street Thunder, "Yeah?" She questioned.

"Your phone's about to go dead," he answered, handing her the phone with it still flipped open.

She glanced at the screen momentarily and smiled a little sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. I forgot to put in on the charger the other night and the charger for the car isn't working at the moment. Mom's dog got a hold of it when I was taking her to the vet a couple of days ago, just haven't gotten around to replacing it yet." She glanced over to where Trinity was standing, her head still below the Lancer's hood, her stance giving the impression she wasn't to happy about something.

"See if Trin will let you use hers," Courtney suggested. "If she seems in a really bad mood, don't ask her, she'll be on and off of it for the next hour as she tries to locate one of our contacts for parts. In that case, see if Leti will let you use hers, she's usually pretty ok with things like this."

Vert nodded his head and started off in the direction of where Trinity now was. She had moved away from Bass Assault and was now talking with Mikey next to Omega One. Her expression was one of total and complete irritation. The Lancer's hood was still popped and there were a few hoses disconnected he noticed as he walked past the two tone blue car.

"Hey Trin," he greeted as he walked up to his cousin and her friend. "Mikey," he nodded his head toward the other young man.

Mikey nodded his head back then turned his attention back to Trinity. "It might have shorted the Unichip," he was saying, his dark eyes closing a moment in thought. "Some of the vapors from the ruptured hose might have condensed on the Unichip and shorted it out. That's going to be a nice repair, but it shouldn't take to long, an hour the most would be my guess."

"Yeah, an hour if I could get a hold of someone at the garage, but Carl's not even answering his home phone," Trinity complained as her hand squeezed the small phone she was holding in her grasp. "I'll see if I can get a hold of someone from Moon's garage, they're usually a bit more reliable on these types of things." Then she glanced at where Vert was still standing, watching the both of them patiently. "What's up Vert?" She asked. "You need something?"

"Yeah, I was gonna see if I could use your phone for a few minutes, but if you're gonna be needing it I'll see if Leti will let me use hers." He answered.

She glanced at him with interest, "And just who're you gonna call this early in the morning, most sensible people are in bed."

He smiled at her slight barb, "One of my teammates so they know what happened to me. He's the only one who's got a cell on our team," his grin turned a little embarrassed, "or I guess I should say he's the only one who remembers to carry their cell with them. The rest of us always seem to forget them at home." He glanced up at the darkenrd sky then looked back down at her. "They're a nuisance when you're in the middle of a race. Nothing like having it go off, and startling you when you're going around a nice turn."

She smiled at him, knowing exactly what he meant. "Yeah, I know that feeling, that's why I usually put mine on vibrate during races, then I don't hafta worry 'bout that happening." She looked over toward Leti and her yellow Mustang. "Leti shouldn't have problem with you using her cell, if she does just tell her I told ya to ask. Tell her I'm trying to get a hold of one of the garages, she'll understand."

Again, Vert nodded his head and started off in the direction of the yellow Mustang, sitting at the end position of the five cars. Leti was in her car, but she wasn't sitting in it; instead she was partially draped over the driver's seat while looking underneath the dashboard. Her feet were hanging out of the car, digging small ruts into the dirt and gravel as she constantly repositioned herself in an attempt to get a better view of whatever it was she was looking at.

He put a hand up on the roof of the car and softly spoke her name, not wanting to startle the young woman. "Leti, Trinity said I should ask you if I could use your cell phone, she's busy trying to get a hold of a garage."

Leti poked her dark head out from beneath the dash of the car, her Asian face smeared with grease and dust. She sat up on the seat and dusted her hands off on her black pants. Vert noticed that the stripe he had thought was a single yellow one was in fact three stripes; two yellow ones with a thin red stripe running between them.

Her dark eyes turned up to regard him, then a moment later she turned around to pick something up from off of the passenger seat. She threw a yellow phone with red and blue flames on it at him. "Here ya go," she said softly. "It could take half an hour or more before she finally reaches someone at any of the garages." The corners of her lips were turned up slightly and a mischievous sparkle appeared in her eyes, almost as if this were common occurrence and happened all the time.

"Thanks," he said as he looked at the small phone than glanced at her car. The phone went along with the paint scheme and detailing of the Mustang. He had noticed that Trinity's phone was silver and purple and so was Courtney's; they didn't really go with the schemes of the cars; well, Trinity's could since the dragons on her car were silver and purple. He shook his head, it wasn't really anything of importance, maybe they just liked the silver and purple of the phones better or it could be that trying to get dragons and a phoenix on a phone was a bit more difficult then flames.

He flipped the yellow phone open and quickly punched in the series of numbers he would be calling. Then he hit the send button and waited for the ringing that would tell him the call was going through.

After a couple of rings a familiar voice answered, "Yo Leti, I'm kinda busy so this had better be important."

Vert blinked his eyes a couple of times, taken aback by the strange way Shirako had answered his phone. This definitely wasn't the greeting he had been expecting, definitely not at all. He didn't answer, not sure how to respond.

"Leti?" He heard Shirako question. "Orimoto, I said I was busy so unless you got somethin' to say, I'm gonna hang up. I don't have time to play games on the phone right now."

"Shirako?" He had finally managed to find his voice.

This time there was a pause from the other end and Vert also noticed that Leti was looking at him with a questioning look. Her dark eyes were looking at him with speculation and interest as well as confusion.

"Vert?" he finally heard Shirako ask, his voice full of confusion.

Vert continued to stare at Leti as her dark eyes continued to drill into his; her gaze showing her utmost confusion. She wasn't the only one who was confused at the moment.

_Well finally, I finally managed to get this chapter complete, and while I'm not 100 happy with the turnout, it'll work. Questions? Feel free to leave them in a review and if I'm able to give an answer without revealing too much, I'll try to give you one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though I didn't have much enjoyment writing it, it was being a PITA. Finally though, it is done._

_Now be a good reader and leave me a review and let me know what you think. Thanks a million for those who have read and have reviewed. I greatly appreciate it, more than words could ever hope to express._

_Now onto the shout outs…_

_MoonRavenX: I'm glad you like the story even though at the moment it's being a really huge pain in my head and causing one heck of a headache. I have one question for you, I noticed that your story is no longer posted, did you remove it or was it removed by the powers that be? I hadn't gotten the chance to really read it, I think I'd glanced over it quickly but my time's been limited at the moment._

_Southernlady: Glad you think it's getting good now, it's going to slow down slightly and might become slightly less interesting in the next couple chapters as I gear it up and prepare for all the drama and betrayal that are slowly coming into being. The three Silencerz agents, and yes I said three, are soon to make their appearance and attempt their latest bid to win Vert over to the Silencerz team._

_Dark672: glad you still think it's good, hopefully you'll still think so once things start to slow down for a bit._

_KawaiiYamato: Glad you liked the previous chapter though I still think it was one of my worse ones but I needed a filler chapter and it just seemed to keep beating on my poor head till it was written. And yes, I like the word obsessed as well, lol. Well, I have honestly got to say killing Shirako is not on my agenda, though it may be on Trinity's. Glad to know you have no intentions of killing him either, or at least I hope that's what you're saying…I'm just going to send a lot of mayhem and destruction his way but in the end it'll all work itself out. Hope you liked this chapter, I send it to you to look over but never heard anything from you so I wasn't sure if you got it or it was because of having to use the library computers. Hope things get better with the whole computer issue, I know it's not fun not having one at your beck and call._

_KTezla: I have honestly got to tell you that yours is one of the reviews I look forward to, as well as a few others. I'm glad the previous chapter cracked you up, it had me laughing at a few parts as I was writing them and the whole conflict scene between Karma and Wylde had to be one of my favorites. I see those two going at it a few more times before this story is over with. It doesn't bother me if you want to comment on any of the other shout outs, it's quite all right with me. It just proves you're reading everything, even down to the shout outs, lol. And just who are you obsessed with? I'd love to know! Awesome? Wow, never thought that that word would be ascribed to my story, thank you a million. As long as you keep reviewing you don't have to worry, I will most definitely keep writing._

_Dragoneian: I have got to tell you that that is one interesting name, I like it. It's got dragon in it and I absolutely adore them. Glad you liked the story and hopefully you like this chapter as well._


	6. A Question Of Loyalty

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Summary: Vert discovers the connection between Shirako and Leti as Trinity comes up with a plan that neither Leti nor Vert care for.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 6: A Question Of Loyalty

"Vert?" he finally heard Shirako ask, his voice full of confusion.

Vert continued to stare at Leti as her dark eyes continued to drill into his; her gaze showing her utmost confusion. She wasn't the only one who was confused at the moment. But behind her dark eyes he could tell that her mind was working, it was trying to piece together a puzzle that it didn't have all the jigsaw pieces for yet.

"Vert?" he heard Shirako's voice over the phone connection again, there was still a hint of confusion in his friend's voice.

"Yeah, Shirako, it's me," Vert said, his eyes never leaving Leti's.

She had slowly stood up, her eyes never once leaving his. Her hands were knotted into the fabric of her pants, her knuckles turning white with her grip. Her eyes had also narrowed slightly, as if she were trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Trying to place the last elusive piece of the puzzle into its place, but she still couldn't figure out the big picture.

That was something that Vert, himself, would like to know as well. Apparently, somehow, Leti and Shirako knew each other; knew each other well enough to have one another's cell numbers.

"Vert, how'd you get Leti's phone?" Shirako finally asked. "And why in the hell are you in Wyoming? Or is she in Cally? We thought the Silencerz had captured you, what's going on?" Shirako was shooting question after question at him, without giving him a moment's pause to answer. "Did you manage to escape? Is that why you're in Wyoming?"

Vert was speechless, not that it mattered since Shirako didn't want to give him the chance to answer any of his questions anyhow. This was the most he had ever heard his fellow Teku driver talk before, the young Asian man was always more interested in the sound systems of the team cars than actually talking to his other teammates.

"Shirako, shut up for a few seconds and give me time to answer your questions." Vert demanded, his eyes still locked with Leti's. He paused for a second as the full impact of what he'd just said sunk in; he'd just told Shirako to shut up, that had to be something in itself that was unprecedented. Shirako never formulated enough sentences for someone to tell him to shut up; Vert shook his head, completely bewildered by the events that kept unfolding around him. Everything was getting weirder and weirder by the moment, make that second.

Leti's dark Asian eyes had narrowed at the mention again of Shirako's name, her grip on her pants tightening. Her lips became thin lines and it appeared as if she were about to say something but thought better of it. She remained quiet, waiting to see how things would play out and then possibly get some answers to the questions that were now running rampant through her brain.

There was silence from the other end, "Ok," Shirako finally said. "Answer one question though: How'd you end up with Leti's phone?"

_Of all the questions he wants answered, that's the one he wants answered first,_ Vert thought silently to himself. _He's more worried about how I ended up with Leti's phone than where I really am or what's happened. And how in the hell does he know Leti in the first place? Girlfriend, ex-girlfriend? _Vert shook his head silently, he didn't think so, Shirako had never mentioned anything about having a girlfriend or even being interested in a girl."It's a long story," he finally said. "One I don't really want to get into over the phone. Let's just say I ran into a couple of my cousins and Leti happens to be friends with them."

"Members of the Atomic Winds?" Shirako asked, there was something in his voice, almost like understanding, but Vert wasn't quite sure.

Vert remained quiet for a bit, thoughts cascading through his mind; questions and more questions chasing one another around. Somehow, Shirako knew about the Atomic Winds, but he'd never mentioned anything about them before; but then again, neither had Vert. He had never bothered, why bring up a group of racers from a completely different state after all?

"Yeah, you could say that. My one cousin, Trinity, is actually their leader." Vert finally answered. He'd thrown Trinity's name into the short reply to see if there was any response or note of recognition in Shirako's voice or tone. He received a simple 'Oh', nothing to give him the impression that his teammate had ever heard of Trinity, not even from Leti.

"Vert? You still there?" Shirako asked after there was silence for a few moments, fearing that the connection had been lost or Leti's cell had died, or something had happened.

"Yeah, I'm still here. I just wanted to call and let you guys know that I'm all right." Vert finally said, letting the surprise of everything settle into his mind. He still had questions though, lots of questions. "How do you know Leti?" That seemed like a good place to start, it might shed some light on some of the questions that were now plaguing him.

"She didn't tell you?" There was a hint of laughter in Shirako's voice. "She's my cousin, my dad's sister's daughter."

Well, that explained that. Shirako and Leti were cousins, that's how they knew one another. That also answered the question of whether or not Leti was a girlfriend or an ex, definitely no way possible in light of their blood relation.

"Ok," he paused, thinking of what else to say. "I'll be heading home shortly. I'll explain everything when I get there. Give me sometime before you guys start worrying, it's going to be a long road trip and I want to say bye to my cousins too."

"All right, I'll let everyone know." With that, the connection was cut. Apparently Shirako didn't feel anything else needed to be said. Then again, that was Shirako, the quiet one of the group. Though it seemed, when it came to Leti, he had more to say than usual.

"Your leaving?" he heard Trinity ask from behind him and Leti. He hadn't even heard her walk up behind them. Her footsteps had been silent on the gravel and dirt of the road side.

He turned around to face her, "Yeah," he answered. "I managed to get a hold of my group and it's time to head back home." He walked toward her, a smile playing across his face. "It was good seeing you again," he said as he enveloped her in a hug. "Make sure you make time in your busy schedule to come down and see me sometime. You know you're always welcome."

She smiled at him, "Yes, and the same could be said for you. You don't visit enough Vert. I miss seeing you." Her eyes suddenly got a strange gleam in them and Vert had enough sense to back up from her. Her mind was working overtime and it was never good when it did that. She was bound to come up with an idea that was sure to get him into all worlds of trouble.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop it right now." He said as he backed further up from her. The gleam in her eyes had suddenly turned into a sparkle, a sparkle of mischief. Yes, he was in all worlds of trouble, he could see it already. "The answer is no, whatever it is, NO!"

She smiled at him as she stepped closer, but there was something in that smile that made it wicked, something that told him there was no innocence anywhere behind her cerulean blue depths. She was planning something and whatever it was had his heart beating a couple thousand miles per minute. Her voice was sugary sweet, to sweet for his tastes; it just didn't suit the Trinity Wheeler he knew. "I think that perhaps Courtney and I and the rest of the Atomic Winds should go with you, we can pay you a visit and meet these friends of yours."

Vert stared at her in disbelief. This was not what he had been expecting; he wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting but it certainly hadn't been this. He shook his head, a thousand and one reasons echoing through his brain why this wasn't a good idea. The main reason though was the fact that she'd come face to face with Shirako, the last person in the world he truly ever wanted her to meet. If she was able to put two and two together and come up with Bassline there would be all sorts of trouble.

Trouble he didn't think that neither the Teku nor Metal Maniacs were quite ready to deal with. There would be blood, this he was sure of, just who's blood he wasn't certain; would it be Shirako's or Trinity's? This was something he didn't, couldn't, deal with and he was positive that it would snap what little hold Trinity still held on her sanity.

He finally shook his head, "No, I don't think it would be a good idea."

Trinity pouted, her eyes giving him the infamous puppy dog look. He had to turn away; he had never been able to say no to her when she gave him those eyes. He knew that she knew it was his one weakness and she usually used it when she felt all else would fail. She was going for the jugular early on by using that dirty trick.

Her voice held that wounded bird note to it as it wafted into his ears, "But why, we'd get to spend some more time with each other. You could show us around your territory, that is unless you're afraid we might show your team up. Afraid of a little competition?" So the puppy dog eyes hadn't worked and she decided to really play unfair by going after his ego. He had to give her credit, she know how to play him like she knew how to drive.

His eyes caught hers as he brought them up to face her. She held a look of triumph; apparently she already figured she had won the battle. And she was right, he couldn't let her get in that little jab, couldn't let her try to degrade his reputation. Her smile brightened and he groaned in dejection, apparently she wasn't finished with him yet. "Besides, you couldn't find your way out of a wet paper bag; you'll be lost in no time flat. Our cars are equipped with the latest versions of GPS, you give us a destination and we can have you there in no time flat."

Yes, she definitely wasn't done with him yet. So maybe he didn't have the best sense of direction but it couldn't be that hard to find his way home. He had driven to Wyoming many times before…ok, maybe he hadn't done the driving, but he'd been in the car. It couldn't be that hard, could it? _Could it?_

"You're gonna need our GPS systems and you know it." She said when he didn't answer her right away, but she already knew she had him.

"Fine," he said, allowing it to come out a little more forcefully then it probably needed to. "I'll give you the place I'm-" he paused as she glared at him, "Ok, the place we're going to, but you have to promise to behave."

She grinned at him, her hands coming up in front of her in something similar to a child's happy clap. "I always behave!" She said, her eyes sparkling in merriment.

Vert groaned in complete misery. This was going to be one rough trip, he just knew it; but what lay at the end of the trip was going to be a hundred times worse. _Shirako, _he thought silently, _I hope you're prepared 'cause your life is about ready to get knocked upside down and you aren't going to have a clue what hit you until it's hit you and is gone._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Was that Vert?" Nolo asked before Shirako even had the chance to close his phone.

"Where's he at?" Karma asked, not even giving him time to reply to Nolo's question.

"Is he ok?" was asked by Kurt.

"Did you say Wyoming? What's he doing in Wyoming?" came from Tork.

No one was giving him time to answer any questions; they just kept shooting more and more off before he even had a chance to formulate an answer to the first spoken ones. He held up his hands, his eyes dancing in an uncharacteristical way. "One at a time," he said softly, a peculiar grin on his face.

"Is he ok?" Kurt restated his earlier question.

Shirako nodded his head. "From what I gathered, yes he's ok."

"So it was Vert?" Nolo asked, a slight hint of confusion on his face. "Who's the Leti you were talking about?"

The grin on Shirako's face widened slightly, "Leti's my cousin, as I explained to Vert. And yes, it was Vert I was talking to; he was using my cousin's phone."

"He's in Wyoming then?" Tork asked, stepping up so he was nearly in the front of the group that was now surrounding Shirako.

"Yes," Shirako answered.

"What's he doing there?" Tork asked.

"I don't know, he's gonna explain once he gets back."

"So he's heading back then?" Nolo asked.

Shirako nodded his head in answer. "In a bit, he's got some goodbyes to say first."

"And he's all right?" Karma re-asked Kurt's earlier question.

Again Shirako nodded his head, "As far as I could tell. He said he'll explain everything once he gets back."

"But he doesn't know where we're at, you didn't tell him that," Karma observed.

"It won't take him much to figure that out," Nolo responded. "This is one of the first places he'll look."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Leti nodded in satisfaction as she hit the send button, it was probably best to give Shirako a heads up; that he should be expecting company. It wouldn't be the best of company though, Trinity was smart and it wouldn't take her long until she finally figured out that the truck that Shirako drives was near identical to the one that had caused the crash that had claimed Serena's life.

Once she figured that out, there would be all types of hell to pay. She wouldn't rest until she had seen what she perceived as justice dealt. This of course put Leti into a very sticky situation. She had her loyalty to the Atomic Winds and Trinity as their leader, but she also had loyalties to Shirako as well, they were cousins after all. When the hammer decided to fall, the question would be: on whose side would she find herself? Would she side with Trinity since she was her leader, or would she side with Shirako, her cousin?

The rules of relations would insist that she side with Shirako, but the fundamentals of being on a team would require her to side with her leader and teammate. The whole situation was one she didn't want to be in, one she wanted nothing to do with.

Her message to Shirako had been simple: We're coming for a visit, expect trouble. Keep Bassline hidden.

She knew it would confuse him and he'd probably question her sanity. Hell, lately she had found herself questioning her own sanity, or lack thereof. But she had figured it was best that he have a warning before the storm that was Trinity Wheeler blew into his life and turned it every which way but loose.

She sighed softly and contemplated the events that had happened recently that nose-dived her right into the situation she found herself in. There was Serena's death of course and Trinity's insatiable need for revenge. Then there was the sighting of Bassline, or the truck that looked all too similar to her cousin's ride. Deep down, she knew that it hadn't been Shirako; somehow, she just knew that it hadn't been him. He wouldn't do something like that!

And it was because of that certain knowledge that she hadn't revealed what she knew; hadn't told Trinity or the others that she had recognized the truck. Hadn't revealed to the rest of the Atomic Winds that she knew that truck and also knew who drives it, to do that would be betraying her cousin.

She sighed again, but in not telling them and not allowing Trinity to come face to face with the person she perceived as Serena's murderer, she was also betraying Trinity and the rest of the Atomic Winds. Leti rubbed her head; she could feel the beginning of a headache as her temples began to throb in an uncomfortable rhythm.

"Leti?" she heard a male's voice from behind her, she didn't recognize it as any of her teammates which left Trinity and Courtney's cousin.

She turned around to face him, the fingers of her hands rubbing small circles against her temples, in hopes of relieving the headache before it actually started. "Yeah Vert?" she questioned, hoping that this conversation wasn't going to be anything to taxing. She didn't think she could handle much more drama or anything else for that matter.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Vert asked softly, his eyes were slowly glancing around at the rest of the Atomic Winds, as if he were trying to pinpoint exactly where one particular member was at.

She sighed again, "Sure, what about?"

"Shirako," he said simply and the pounding in her head intensified. This was definitely one conversation she really didn't want to be having. Hell, anything right about now would be better than what she knew was about to crop up.

"What about him?"

"You know, don't you?" he asked,

She looked at him, really looked at him and couldn't decide whether to play dumb or just truthfully answer his question. She went for option one. "Know what?" she asked, putting all the innocence she could muster into those few words.

He blew some air out between his lips and ran a hand through his hair in a distracted manner. "You know about Shirako and Bassline. That the truck you and the rest of the Atomic Winds saw shortly after Serena and Trinity were forced off the road fits Bassline's description perfectly. You also know that it couldn't have possibly been Shirako, there's no way!" He was trying to maintain a whisper but his voice was slowly growing louder with each word.

She motioned for him to keep it down and he nodded his head. In a subdued whisper he continued, "I don't know if Shirako told you or not, but around the time of the accident, he was just completing Bassline. It's not possible for him to have had that truck here, it's just not possible."

"Just completing Bassline?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly. She really didn't have a clue about what he was talking about.

Vert nodded his head, "Yes, Bassline had been destroyed in a race a little while ago and Shirako was just finishing up on the new one. He couldn't have had it here, it's not possible. The timing just doesn't fit."

She just stared at him as she tried to work out what he had just told her. _Bassline had been destroyed and her cousin was rebuilding a new one? The new truck wasn't quite done around the time that Serena had been killed?_ This new information added to what she already knew and confirmed her suspicions on her cousin's innocence, but it also added new questions and concerns.

Had someone set Shirako up then? Or was there another truck out there that looked exactly like Bassline? What were the chances of that? It was plausible, but what were the odds?

"Then who?" she finally asked. "Vert, I've never seen another truck like his. His is a one of a kind, like the cars that we drive. They're all custom, right down to the pedals."

Vert nodded his head, "I understand that, all the cars the Teku and Maniacs drive are custom too. They're built from the chassis up, there's not a possibility of our cars having a twin, it's just not possible." Apparently, Vert was just as confused by the circumstances as Leti was, it was plainly written on his face.

Leti looked at him, watching the tiny lines that appeared and disappeared around his eyes. "If she puts two and two together and figures out that Shirako drives a truck identical to the one that forced her and Serena off the road, I shudder to think of what she'll do. She'll be out for Shirako's blood and I can't let that happen."

Vert sighed as he glanced around, his gaze quickly landing on their topic of conversation. Trinity was standing next to Bass Assault, one hand on the roof as she leaned against the car. Courtney and Mikey were with her; they had their heads together and were discussing something; completely oblivious to the world around them.

That was good for the moment, at least then he and Leti didn't have to worry about either one of the three overhearing something that they didn't need to be hearing. But there were five members to the Atomic Winds and he could only account for four of them; where was Jon hiding at?

Almost as if she had read his mind Leti answered his unspoken question. "Jon's sitting in Crash and Burn if that's who you're looking for." Then, almost as if it was an afterthought and in a rather snide voice she said, "It's past his bedtime."

_Well, there's the completion of Chapter 6, I could have continued for quite a while longer but it's already up to 9 pages and I don't want to give anyone a headache from staring at the computer screen for to long. Been there, done that and the trip to the ER is not a fun thing when you feel like your head is about to explode…plus I hate CT Scans. I have issues with small spaces that whirl as something's going around you…long story. Anyhow, I hope you liked this chapter and the ending line was meant as a weak attempt at humor. It made me laugh so hopefully it'll had the same effect on you the readers. Make sure you review, I thrive on them plus it lets me know you're enjoying what you're reading._

_Now, onto the shout outs…_

_I unno: Glad you liked the chapter and at the moment, I'm even wondering what's going to happen next. The story seems to have taken on a mind of its own, though it is still following my basic plan, but it keeps adding twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. Like the whole thing with Leti/Vert and the cell call to Shirako, that was quite unexpected but it just popped up and seemed like a really good idea. Hope you liked this chapter as well._

_Tristar: Yes, poor Vert had ended up in quite a bit of confusion and it's only going to get worse as the story progresses. And the pleasure's all mine, thanks for the review, it's greatly appreciated._

_Southernlady: Believe me, I plan on continuing. This story has an indefinite amount of chapters in it; I'm not even sure when it's going to end. I know what the ending is, it's just a problem of will that be the actual ending or will people want it continued once I reach what should be perceived as the ending…now I've got myself confused. Anyhow, glad you've liked and hopefully you liked this chapter as well._

_KawaiiYamato: Yes, I got the e-mail, shortly after I uploaded the new chapter. Sorry I didn't sent this chapter to you but I'm really impatient to get it uploaded, I've had a lovely day and wanted to share my good fortune and mood with everyone else by updating the story. Hope you can forgive me for not giving you a sneak peek or having you edit this chappie for me. I have got to say that I'm very happy that your computer is now fixed and you'll be updating regularly…but you've got to finish at least a couple of your stories! I wanna know endings! Again, I'm being impatient, lol. And of course I love you; you give me wonderful stories to read!_

_MoonRavenX: I can't wait for you to get your new story up, I'll be waiting impatiently for the first chapter…once again I'm being impatient; it seems to be my mood today! I can remember what school was like, now I have to deal with work, that seems to take up all my time and if it's not that, then its car repairs. Luckily I can fix minor things myself; it's the major repairs that cost me in the long run. Things should definitely be getting more and more interesting from here in out._

_C-chan: glad you liked the story, I love reviews no matter what, especially the good ones. Hopefully you'll continue reading and continue to like the story, even once things get really hectic._

_KTezla: Glad things are proving to be unpredictable; in all honesty, I never saw the whole thing with Shirako and the cell phone coming either, it just kinda wormed its way in and I thought it was pretty good so I left it in. I'm glad you're happy that I update, I try to update at least once a week and if that's not possible I attempt to as soon as is possible, it helps though that I usually have another chapter partially completed when I upload the new one. I have got to say that dragons are one, if not, my favorite legendary creature. So Vert's your obsession huh? He's cute, but for some odd reason I seem to be drawn to Shirako, not sure if it's 'cause he's quiet or 'cause of Bassline…I absolutely adore that truck! My son has a habit of calling my car Bassline, it's white and packs one hell of a system in it as well, though I don't think it's anything compared to the system in the actual Bassline. I've been to the forum and actually toyed with the idea of signing up, but someone beat me to Shirako…sighs plus I'm not sure exactly what to do. I'm at a loss on things like that. And yes, you are one of my favorite reviewers; I've got a few particular who I wait for their reviews. I'm sure they know who they are, lol. I'm glad you're behind me 100 on this story, I was a little leery of actually posting it, I wasn't sure if anyone would like it or not. I'm glad that there are people who do like it and tell me so, there's a thrill to seeing all the positive reviews for this story. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as the rest._

_Now, hopefully everyone will review and tell me exactly what they're thinking of the story. I can't stress this enough, plus you might get the seventh chapter written a bit quicker…hint Now Review!_


	7. Of Technetium and Accelium

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Summary: Leti and Vert talk and Admiral Graymond gets some very disturbing news.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 7: Of Technetium and Accelium

"We'll meet back at Leti's house in an hour and a half, got that?" Trinity asked as she gazed around at her friends and teammates. They were all standing in a semi-circle around Bass Assault with Trinity in the middle, leaned back against the two tone blue car. "Once everyone's assembled we'll prepare to leave. Make sure you've got enough cash on you to fill your tanks up and get some food on the way, it's gonna be a long trip and we'll probably be making several stops along the way." She glanced at Jon, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Unfortunately, some of our cars seem to go through gas a lot quicker than others."

The red head had enough sense to blush slightly, his eyes automatically going down in embarrassment to look at the ground. It was true, for as small as the Neon was, the car ate up more gas than it should. That had given rise to the second nickname for Thunderhead: Gas Hog.

"Why Leti's house?" Vert questioned, not understanding why they would meet at the young woman's place instead of at Trinity's or Courtney's.

"Her place is closer, besides, Court and I are going to be heading to Moon's garage to pick up the needed parts for Bass Assault. Without the needed repairs I wouldn't even trust her to make the trip partially. With Moon's help it shouldn't take me long to install the new chip and the few other parts, we shouldn't be long." She smiled at Vert, "Besides, I don't think you want to watch me playing around with my car, you'll probably want to do some work on yours and Leti's got the space at her place for you to do so. Make sure that Beast is ready to roll, we don't need any delays."

Vert smirked at her, "She's ready to roll, you don't have to worry about that."

"Good, I don't want to make any pit stops for anything other than food and gas." Her eyes briefly landed on the rest of her crew, "Everyone make sure their rides are ready to roll, I really don't want any unforeseen circumstances popping up. I plan on making this trip in as short of a time as is possible, and with our cars that shouldn't be long."

Her cerulean shaded eyes focused on Vert again, "You sure that thing is gonna be able to keep up?"

His eyes turned serious, "The question is: Are you going to be able to keep up if I pass you?"

She smiled at him, "Spoken just like the Vert Wheeler I know and love." She clapped her hands together briefly, "Ok people, let's pack it up and move. Time's a wasting."

Vert watched as the Atomic Winds quickly made tracks for their cars, each knowing what to do and what was being asked of them. It seemed they knew this routine well and played it out in a well timed manner. Apparently road trips weren't something out of the ordinary for the Atomic Winds. Then again, Trinity or someone, had made mention of them going to other near by cities to find some competent racing competition. With that in mind, Vert decided that these late night road trips were something of a norm for his cousins and their crew.

"You coming?" He heard someone yell toward him. Leti's yellow Mustang was sitting in the middle of the road, directly in front of Reverb. He hesitated only a moment before he made a mad dash for his own car.

"Right behind you," he called out just as he was getting into his own car. It was only seconds later that he heard the squealing of Powerdyne's tires and saw nothing other than the yellow muscle car's receding taillights. He shifted Reverb into gear and gunned the engine, his tires squealing as well once they hit the pavement of the road.

This would definitely prove to be an interesting road trip, that was one thing that was for sure.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Admiral Graymond paced back and forth within his office, his anger growing more and more with each passing minute, consuming him. Technetium and Accelium's drivers had yet to report in, they were a few hours over due. Perhaps it had not been the best possible solution to send those two out after the Wheeler Kid; maybe he should have sent someone else out, someone who had more experience in tracking and tailing a target.

Perhaps he should have sent Octainium instead.

He shook his head for what seemed the thousandth time within an hour. He'd have their heads once they did decide to report in, and if they were lucky, they'd be allowed to race again. That was only if he was in a good mood, but it wasn't looking very promising at the moment.

He returned to his pacing, grumbling once in a while beneath his breath. His hands were clasped behind his back, if he didn't have them in this position then he may more than likely give into his urge to grab the nearest object and throw it as far as was possible. His superiors were growing agitated, wanting progress reports he didn't have to give. How could he give them reports when he himself didn't have a clue where Technetium and Accelium were at, let alone Vert Wheeler?

They had been keeping track of Technetium via its satellite feed, but that had quit working about three hours ago; the last time they had heard anything from either driver. Technetium's driver had said there was a malfunction in the main computer for the satellite hook up, that being the case they couldn't even override anything within the car. Couldn't even track it now. This was all too convenient in his opinion.

Technetium's driver was skilled beneath the hood, it wouldn't take much for the driver to unhook a few wires and screw up a few needed components. This all smelled of a rat, perhaps Dr. Tezla wasn't the only one who had an undercover agent amongst those he trusted. No, the Silencerz didn't have a double agent within their ranks, it wasn't possible. All those that worked for the Silencerz were hand picked, their records gone over with a fine tooth comb. They were the best the armed forces and military had to offer, it wasn't feasible for there to be a traitor amongst his agents.

Something had gone wrong with Technetium's systems, something had malfunctioned, that's all. His two drivers would report in just as soon as they had news to give; just as soon as it was possible.

A consul on his desk beeped. He walked over to it slowly, glowering at it, as if telling it that if it was going to give him bad news it would pay the ultimate price. "Graymond here, any news?"

"Yes sir, Technetium is reporting in. I'm transferring the signal to your office sir," the technician over the channel said. Within moments the technician's face was replaced with the helmeted head of Technetium's driver.

"Report," Admiral Graymond ordered, not wanting to be kept in the dark any longer than was necessary. He had others to report to as well, and they liked being kept waiting even far less than he did.

"We've lost him sir, he managed to slip by us somehow. We think he may have had help from some local street racers, but we're not sure." Technetium's driver responded, their voice muffled by the helmet.

"How in the hell did you manage to loose him!" Admiral Graymond thundered, his fist hitting the top of his desk in his anger.

There was what appeared to be a shrug from Technetium's driver. "Like I said sir, we think he may have had some help from some local street racers. We were cloaked and following him when we were blown off the road by some street cars. When we finally managed to reorient ourselves, he was no where to be seen."

"What's your location now?"

Technetium's driver glanced around, "Somewhere within Southwestern Wyoming." There was a pause, "Hold on just a moment sir, we seem to have run into some problems."

"What sort of problems?" Graymond asked, not liking things at the moment. This was not good news and his superiors most definitely would like it far less than he was at the moment.

He heard the crackle of static as Accelium's driver's voice suddenly came over the channel. "We've got Drones!"

"What!" Graymond fairly screamed. At that moment there was a loud squealing noise. His visual connection with Technetium vanished; he was on audio now only. He couldn't see what was happening, couldn't guess on what was going on. He still heard the strange squealing of tires or perhaps it was brakes, he couldn't be sure. Then there was a loud crash, the sound of metal crinkling and then the connection was dead.

"What the hell?" he breathed out. Had he just heard his two operatives crash? The Drones, he'd heard Accelium's driver mention something about the Drones. Weren't they destroyed then, like he had been led to believe? "This isn't good, not good at all," he said beneath his breath.

There was going to be hell to pay, he knew this. His superiors weren't going to like it when he informed them that two of his operatives may have been taken offline by the Drones; wouldn't like it when he informed them that they may have possibly lost two of their cars. Yes, there was definitely going to be hell to pay.

Now, the only question that remained was who could he pin it on to save his own neck? He couldn't blame Technetium and Accelium's drivers, they were now MIA. Most likely to be presumed dead, he couldn't use those two for his scapegoat, but who then?

"Major Wheeler!" He thundered as an idea popped into his head, one that might just work if he played all his cards right.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

They pulled up in front of an old farm house, a decent looking garage set off slightly behind the main house. There was a porch light on, but no lights on in the main part of the house; there was also a bright light shining outside of the garage.

"Home sweet home," Leti muttered as she got out of her car and walked slowly over toward Vert and Reverb. "It's not much but it works. You need to do anything to that car of yours or do you think everything should be fine for the long haul?"

"Reverb will be fine, she's well taken car of." Vert answered. He glanced up at the two story farm house then turned back to look at Leti. "We need to talk," he said, his voice growing serious.

Leti sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. "'Bout what?" she asked.

"Shirako and Trinity." He answered.

Leti closed her eyes, she could feel the beginnings of the headache returning. Lately everything seemed to focus on Trinity and Shirako. She opened her eyes back up to look at him, her eyes registering the pain she was just beginning to feel. She had a feeling by the ending of the day her headache would be wreaking havoc in full force. "I don't like it," she finally spoke up.

Vert sighed and leaned back against Reverb. "I've got to agree with you on that." He glanced around the open space, the surrounding trees a good fifty yards or more from the edges of the house and garage. "Where did the rest of the group go?"

This was a topic she could handle; it didn't set her head to pounding. "They'll go home quickly to get needed supplies, there's no telling how long we'll be gone so they'll grab some extra cloths and the like. They're be here before Trinity and Courtney show up, you don't have to worry 'bout that."

"You know Trinity will go crazy once she realizes who Shirako is?" Vert stated, dreading when that would occur.

Again her temples began to pound. "Yeah, I know. Our best bet is going to be keeping her from discovering that before we leave to come back home. What she never knows will never hurt her…or Shirako for that matter."

"Can I use your phone quick?"

"Sure. What for?" Leti asked as she pulled her small yellow phone from its holster on her hip.

"I want to call Shirako and give him a heads up, he might want to know what to expect." Vert answered.

Leti nodded her head, "I already did that. I sent him a short text telling him to expect company and keep Bassline hidden. He's probably going to think I'm nuts."

Vert stared at her, "Bassline was destroyed, remember?"

Leti stared at him for a moment, in the confusion of the recent events she had completely forgotten that he'd told her that. Now Shirako would most definitely think she was going insane. "Maybe you had better call him and explain things to him."

She opened her phone up and quickly hit one of the buttons. She waited for the automated voice to ask her who she wanted to call. "Shirako," she stated and the electronic voice responded with a simple 'Calling.'.

"Here," she said as she handed the phone to him, "I used the voice dial feature, I've got Shirako's number programmed into it."

Vert nodded his head in understanding and took the phone from her. It rang a total of two times before he heard Shirako pick it up. "What do you mean keep Bassline hidden?" he heard Shirako ask before he even found out who was actually calling him.

"It's Vert Shirako, not Leti."

"Oh."

"I've got to fill you in on some things, that might explain what Leti was talking about. You might not like them."

"I'm listening," was Shirako's response.

"You already know that Leti's in the same group as my two cousins, Trinity and Courtney," Vert started, not really sure exactly where to begin. It was a long confusing story and he wasn't exactly sure what Shirako needed to know and what he didn't.

"Got that much, doesn't explain what it has to do with Bassline."

"I'll explain in a second, there's other things you have to understand."

"Still listening," Shirako responded.

"Trinity's twin sister, my cousin, was killed in a car accident three weeks ago; both she and Trin were forced off the road by a truck. Several people saw the truck that caused the accident, including Leti. The truck was the spitting image of Bassline and Trinity's now out for revenge on the guy that owns that truck…who she just happens to think is you."

"What?"

"She doesn't actually know that you drive a truck that looks like…"Vert stopped mid-sentence, not sure exactly how to explain what he was trying to say.

Leti took the phone from him, "Hey Shirako, it's Leti."

"Hey cuz, what exactly is Vert talking about?"

"Trinity thinks that it was your truck that forced her and Serena off the road and resulted in Sere's death. She doesn't actually know that you drive a truck that looks like the one that forced them off the road, but if she finds it out she'll think it was you and try to take her revenge out on you. I know you didn't do it and Vert explained about what happened to Bassline and the fact that you didn't have the new one finished until after the time of the accident. We both know that it couldn't possibly have been you, but Trinity more than likely won't see reason, her want of revenge will blind her senses."

Shirako remained quiet for a few seconds, processing everything he had been told. "I'm following so far, but where does the whole expect company come in?"

Leti sighed, "Vert's not coming home alone, Trinity's decided that the whole gang's gonna come with him. Soon enough you're going to come face to face with Trinity and I want to make certain that she's never going to suspect that you're the one she thinks she's looking for. As long as she never finds out about Bassline, everything will be fine. She can have her little reunion with Vert and once she's got that and seeing what sort of team he belongs to out of her system, we can head home and she'll never be the wiser."

"Gotchya," Shirako said, finally understanding, if not completely, what was going on. He had the gist of what was going on and that's all that mattered at the moment, he could get more sufficient answers later, when Vert made it back.

Vert took the phone from Leti, "Just make sure that everyone understands that Bassline's not to be mentioned. We don't need Trinity to discover anything she's not suppose to."

_Well, there's Chapter 7, a little on the hurried side but I want to start to get things rolling. Things will most definitely start heating up from here on in as Trinity and Shirako come face to face for the first time, the question is: Will Leti and Vert manage to keep Trinity from discovering the truth? The answer is of course no. Someone or something is going to slip and then all hell is going to break loose. That's a while in coming though so no one has to worry about Trinity trying to spill Shirako's blood anytime soon._

_Now, be kind and review._

_And now onto the shout outs, even though there wasn't very many this time but it was also such a short period in between updates as well…_

_MoonRavenX: grins I would have to say that you are probably correct in saying that Shirako is innocent and it was actually a Silencerz that caused the accident. But then that would be admitting too much so I'll just not have to agree or deny that at the moment, lol. As for the comment about things heating up between the three teams: most definitely. Hope this update was soon enough for you!_

_Dark672: glad you still think it's good, keep reviewing!_

_Dragoneian: I'm glad you think it's getting better as it goes along, I've had my doubts a few times but all the positive reviews helps out a lot. Your welcome for the compliment on your name and I hope you still think that this story is good. I'm having lots of fun writing it._

_KTezla: Bet you're probably thinking this chapter was even faster than the previous. It's not my best work but it suffices in the long run, I think it's basically another filler chapter to get the story going where I want it to go. My seven year old son was actually the one who got me into watching AcceleRacers, he started collecting the cars and I decided I wanted to see what the whole deal was and started researching in on the 'net and that's when it piqued my interest. I think I've watched the movies more than he has and I'm not sure if I buy the toys for him to play with or me, lol. You can keep Vert and I'll keep Shirako, sound good to you? Could you ask the administrator for me? I'd love to be able to take over Shirako's character! I could even introduce Trinity into the whole mix, though I'm not sure how well liked she'll be since she has a death wish out for Shirako, at least for now. And yes, I can guess who you are, lol. Kara Tezla I believe. In all honesty, Shirako and Trinity will get a long just fine once she settles her differences with him and discovers who really killed Serena. She definitely is a girl who would take someone out if she felt they had wronged her, it's a good thing it won't really come to that where it concerns Shirako. Is there possibly a way I could get in touch with you? E-mail addy or something so I could toss some of my ideas your way, I want someone's opinion on some of the things I want to occur, but I want to know what someone else thinks._

_KawaiiYamato: Of course I like them! They're wonderful. I do have to agree that we are all addicted to something, though I wouldn't know if I would call my chapters' wonderful, lol. I'm a humble Fanfiction writer, imagine that! Yes, I would have to agree that the previous chapter's title was a bit misleading, fortunately Shirako and Trinity have not yet met, but that is very soon coming. I'll go along with the idea of editing, if I think the chapter needs work, I'll send it to you, if not then I'll just post it. This chapter didn't matter much since it's basically just a filler so it really didn't need the proof reading. As for updating soon, hope this was soon enough so now I'll be expecting a chapter or two from you, from any of your stories._

_Again, please, everyone review! The story gets updated so much quicker with all the positive reviews I get!_


	8. Fluffy and Maximus

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Summary: More lies become evident as Technetium and Accelium show that they're still alive and going strong. Vert briefly witnesses the return of Trinity as he remembers her, but it's not to last long. He also meets Fluffy and Maximus and discovers that life is indeed sometimes for the dogs.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 8: Fluffy and Maximus

The road was deserted for as far as could be seen, there wasn't a single vehicle on its blacktop; the only noise was the chirping of the crickets, but soon enough even they would submit to the near total silence. In the far distance two sets of headlights appeared seemingly from nowhere. With the swift approach of the two vehicles the chirping of the crickets suddenly ceased and all became quiet save for the thrumming of the approaching engines.

The lead car seemed to be all curves and smooth angles, roof scoop giving way to an exotic spoiler that seemed to just melt from the car. It was almost completely silver save for a few purple accents. A solid band of pearlized silver ran up the center of the hood to bisect the front windshield, disappearing just before reaching the roof scoop. Two racing stripes of purple ran parallel with the silver band, melting into the purple of the windshield. There was a strange purple shaded V tilted on its side on what could only be called the doors of the car, the upward sweeps of the V giving way to a strange molding that ran to the front wheel wells. Within the space created by the V and strange moldings were slate gray detailing that appeared neither as letters or pictures, just strange markings that gave way to nothing.

The vehicle following behind it was even stranger in its appearance, like nothing that any sane car developer would ever dream of creating. It was all sharp angles and gave the appearance of a predatory animal, watching for its next meal. It looked like the head of a mutated Triceratops, three horns and all. Twin horns, tapered and blunt in their appearance, sprouted from above the front wheel wells. A strange hump was positioned just behind the driver's cockpit, looking reminiscent of the main nose horn of a Triceratops or the bump that was positioned on the head of a Brachiosaur. All in all, the car was a strange sight to be seen. It was silver like its companion with the accents of purple.

Within seconds, both cars were gone, leaving the road deserted once again and after a few minutes the crickets returned to their night serenade.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"What's the time?" Technetium's filtered voice asked over the communication frequency. Both of the cars were traveling at a high rate of speed, their cloaks down not caring who seen them or who didn't.

"Fifteen after four," Accelium's driver responded.

"Good," came the response. Without even giving a warning the rally-style racer turned onto a back road, no turn signal or anything to give coming traffic a clue that the car was about to turn. Not that it mattered; the two Silencerz vehicles had the road to themselves, at least for the moment.

A few more turns were made, each without an indication that the silver and purple vehicles were turning; there was no visible signs on either car that they were equipped with lights to indicate that they were about to turn. After a few more minutes of driving on a winding back road they came into the outskirts of a small town, a town so small that if you were to blink you'd more than likely miss passing through it.

Another illegal turn and the two Silencerz vehicles stopped in front of a large garage. The sign swinging back and forth in the gentle breeze read 'Moon's Parts and Repairs'.

"Activate cloak and park in an inconspicuous place. We don't want to be seen." Technetium ordered.

"Copy that," Accelium responded.

With a crackling of energy both vehicles suddenly disappeared, seemingly to melt into their surroundings.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Everything's ok then?" Trinity asked as she started Bass Assault up. She glanced up to look at Moon, his darkly tanned skin glistening in the overhead lights of the garage. His face was smeared with grease and dirt, but his dark brown eyes were sparkling.

He nodded his head, "Whatever you did to her, it was extensive. Sorry it took so long on the repairs, but that engine was shot. You took one of the pistons right through your oil pan and apparently the oil pan had gas in it…the added mixture of nitrous didn't improve the problem any."

She gave him a sheepish smile, "Guess it was a good thing I'd ordered in that new engine, I think I'll like the power increase and this trip will let me test exactly how much of a power output I've gained."

He leaned against the door, an arm propped on the space created by the retracted window. "It was just a good thing that the new engine got here when it did. I wasn't expecting it until sometime next week." He glanced back towards a darkened area of the garage where several other cars sat in the dimly lit darkness. "If the engine hadn't come in, you could've always taken Bass Reflex out, she's not completely set up but she's ready to run."

"You don't have the system hooked up yet," Trinity responded, making a disgusted face. "I can't very likely be taking her out when she's not completely set up, now can I? Everyone within a hundred mile radius knows me for my systems, if I'm driving a car that can't crank the audio, it ain't a true Wheeler ride, now is it?"

He smiled at her, "No it isn't." As he stood up he smacked one of his large hands against the side of Bass Assault, "Now I don't expect to see Assault back in here for a while, understand?"

She nodded her head, "Understood and don't worry, I don't plan on having her back in for a quite a while. I just got a bad batch of oil, I'm gonna be watching what goes into her from now on and if it's not something you approve of it ain't being fed into my engine, that's something I can most definitely guarantee."

Again he turned his gaze to look back at the four cars that were sitting at the back of the garage. "I've almost got Wyldfyre restored, there's just a few parts that I need to get in and then finish on her paint job. But the damage was extensive, you should've just allowed me to just junk her, I think she's going to be more of a headache now." He paused for a few moments, then continued, knowing that Trinity was not going to like what he was about to say. "As for Cobalt Blue, she's beyond repair. The damage from the fire…and the structural damage…there's nothing I can do for Cobalt, she definitely should be scrapped."

He watched the play of emotions as they crossed his friend's face, knowing without her speaking what was going through her mind. He knew she was angry, and she had every right to be. Cobalt Blue was the last thing that she had of her sister and she had made plans to restore the car at any cost. There wasn't really any sense in telling her that it wasn't possible, she'd spend a couple hundred thousand on the car's carcass if it would bring back the ride that Serena had loved most in the world. It would make a lot more sense to take another Cobalt and modify it in the image of Cobalt Blue, but he also knew that that wouldn't make it Cobalt Blue, there was only one of them and it was sitting in a twisted heap of metal in the back of his garage.

"No," Trinity finally said, allowing some of her anger to dissipate, she knew he was only telling her what his opinion was and she had always trusted his instincts, but this one time she wouldn't allow herself to do so. "No, Cobalt Blue can't be scrapped. I have the utmost trust in you Moon and I believe that you can bring that car back to her former glory. You know I don't care how much it costs, I just want her restored."

Moon nodded his head, his bandanna slipping slightly down onto his forehead. "I know and I also know what she means to you and I'll try my best. It's going to require a lot of work and most everything's gonna have to be new. I think the only thing that still might be good on her is her frame, but even that's not a guarantee."

"I trust you," she simply said.

"I'll do my best, you know that."

She smiled at him, "And you've never let me down in the past, I don't suspect that you'll start now."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

There was a small light blinking intermittently within Accelium's cockpit, a light indicating that there was a problem. Accelium's driver glanced over the gages that gave readings and warnings at a glance, everything checked out fine. Every gage was reading in the green zone, there were no indications of any trouble, but something was causing the small red light to blink.

A silver gloved finger traced a slow path over each of the gages, watching for even the slightest waver in needles. Everything seemed fine. No wait, the battery gage was fluctuating slightly. The needle moved ever so slightly from left to right, then fluctuated back, indicating that there was a power drain somewhere, that something wasn't right.

With a quick flip of a switch, Accelium's driver put the car into diagnostic mode. The main computer of the car would locate the exact problem and if it were something that could be solved with a few rerouted circuits the car would fix itself. If it was something far more sinister, something that would require maintenance, then it was something that wasn't going to be fixed right away.

Accelium's driver glanced up just in time to see the two tone blue Lancer pull out of the garage.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Courtney walked up to her cousin's car, watching as Trinity put the Lancer into a neutral gear and allowed it to sit there for a few moments idling. "All ready now?" she asked and watched as Trinity turned to face her. "Assault's not going to decide to blow a piston or something three hours into the trip, is she?"

"Nah, Moon's given her a clean bill of health. She's ready to rock n' roll. Engine's purring like never before and she's giving the impression that she's ready to rip the road apart." Trinity smiled and gunned the engine, her grin spreading as the car responded. It suddenly backfired and Moon came running.

"What happened?" He questioned, fearing the worse.

"She just backfired, guess I don't have all the additives worked out of her yet or there's still buildup from the old engine." Trinity explained, watching as the almost horrified expression slowly left the mechanic's face. "Everything's all right, she's purring like the lioness she is."

"Didn't know lioness's purred, I thought they growled and roared," Courtney pointed out.

Trinity made a face and stuck her tongue out at her cousin, "I can't very likely say she's purring like a kitten, now can I?"

"Guess not," Courtney agreed. "You ready to go anyhow? The others were expecting us over half an hour ago."

"You called Leti and told her we were running late, didn't you?" Trinity asked, giving her cousin one of those 'You're-an-idiot-if-you-didn't' looks.

"Yeah," Courtney answered. "I also told her that you managed to blow the engine."

"Gee, thanks."

"Always glad to be of service."

"Just get in your car so we can get going!" Trinity mocked yelled, adding just a bit of force to her voice to make it seem real. She always enjoyed the pretended arguments between her and Courtney, it almost made things seem normal, like the past three weeks had never happened.

"I'm going," Courtney responded, a grin slowly lifting the corners of her lips upwards.

With a wave goodbye, the two Atomic Winds vehicles tore out of the parking area of the garage, scattering dirt and stones in every direction. Moon shook his head as a smile appeared on his face, "I wonder about those two sometimes." He said as he turned back around to go into his garage. There was no way he'd be able to go back to sleep now, he was wide awake and he'd use his free time to see if there really was any hope for the charred and blackened Cobalt.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Behind the garage, still hidden beneath the stealth of their cloaks, the two Silencerz vehicles sat. No one was the wiser to their presence, that they were sitting someplace where they shouldn't have been.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Nearly an hour over due, the last two remaining members of the Atomic Winds finally pulled up in front of the old farm house. Both Trinity and Courtney left their cars running as they hurried up the steps of the porch and entered the house without even knocking.

Sitting in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand, Leti turned her dark eyes to regard her two friends. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to ever show up." She glanced toward the living room, where a loud crash was suddenly heard and Vert's loud yell of pain echoed through the house.

"What the?" Trinity questioned.

"Vert's playing with Fluffy and Maximus," Leti explained.

Trinity nodded her head, suddenly understanding. Fluffy was Leti's Australian Blue Heeler and Maximus was the bigger than he should be chocolate Lab. "And exactly how many times have Fluffy and Maximus drug Vert to the ground?"

Leti looked at the clock on the wall, "In the last fifteen minutes or the last hour?" She questioned, a grin slowly erupting on her face. Her dark eyes danced in merriment.

Trinity's mouth gaped open for a minute, then she giggled slightly.

Courtney stared from her cousin to her friend, a feeling of normalcy spreading through her; it was good to actually see Trinity laugh. It had been a long while since she had truly allowed her mood to brighten, even slightly. "How 'bout we go for the last fifteen minutes?" she questioned.

Leti paused for a moment in thought, "Well, let's see…I've heard him howl in pain at least four times and heard him yell at the two 'lumbering giants' as he so eloquently put it, to get off of him about six times."

Trinity burst out into fits of laughter and soon both Leti and Courtney joined her.

Vert entered the kitchen to see all three of the young women almost literally doubled over in laughter. Trinity was holding her side, Courtney had tears streaming down her face and Leti was trying to catch her breath while still laughing. "Can I ask what's so funny?" He asked, his lips turned down in a frown, "And don't you dare tell me that you're laughing at my expense."

Trinity began to laugh even harder, her face flickering between pain and glee as she held even tighter onto her side, the pain starting to radiate upward towards her ribs. She caught her breath and tried to control the laughter that still threatened to overwhelm her. With a partially contained giggle she responded, "Ok, then we won't tell you it was at your expense!" With that said she broke out into a new fit of giggles.

Leti and Courtney started to laugh harder as Vert's lips turned down even more. "I'm so glad you guys think its funny," his gaze turned to regard Leti, "Your two beasts were trying to eat me for a midnight snack and you three are in here laughing at me. Someone could've come and saved me, ya know."

Leti grinned at him, enjoying the little game, "They wouldn't have eaten much."

Courtney gasped for air, "Just a few nibbles here and there!" Then she broke into laughter again, the tears once more streaming down her face.

Vert threw his hands up in the air, "You guys are impossible. At least I know never to trust you three to have my back. You'd let whoever take a few nibbles out of me here and there!"

Trinity straightened up, her expression turning serious, but there was mirth in her eyes. "Hey, after they got a taste of you they'd spit you back out!"

Vert rolled his eyes. Then a smile very gradually appeared on his face, this was the Trinity he remembered; one full of life and laughter, always finding something good in everything, no matter how bleak things may seem. Then his smile faded; how long would the old Trinity remain? How long until the unfamiliar one reappeared?

The three young women must've caught the change in his mood for they suddenly quit their laughter and stared at him in concern. "What's up Vert?" Trinity questioned.

He smiled sadly at her as he walked over to draw her into his arms and whispered in her hair, "It's just good to see you this way. This is the way I remember you, not the person of the past couple hours bent on revenge. I like this Trinity a lot better, I like her happy and carefree."

She looked up at him sadly, the tears turning her eyes into liquid pools of blue. "It felt good to actually laugh again, to be free of the quilt and anger for a few moments."

His lips didn't leave her hair, "Then why don't you let it go? Just let your revenge go and forget about it."

She lowered her eyes, her gaze shifting to his chest and her words were nearly inaudible. "I just can't Vert. It's not that easy, there's a killer out there somewhere and he has to pay for what he did. You can't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if you were in my shoes."

That was something he just couldn't answer. He didn't know if he'd feel the same way she did, if he'd be bent on the idea of revenge the way she was. Willing to take the law into his own hands and possibly paying the ultimate price for it. He just didn't know.

She pushed away from him; her eyes hardened again, her mood once again set as it had been for the past three weeks. The unfamiliar Trinity was back. She glanced around the room, "Bass Assault and Street Thunder are out there running, we're ready if everyone else is. Let's hit the road."

"I'll go get Jon and Mikey," Leti offered and didn't even wait for a response as she quickly left the room, heading toward the steps that led upstairs.

_Well, there's the completion of Chapter 8 and I'll be happy to inform you that Chapter 9 is complete as well. I have a feeling from the end of Chapter 9 that Karma and Trinity aren't going to get a long very well. I think in the end, Trinity's not going to get a long with any of the Teku or Maniacs…she's just to unpredictable at the moment._

_Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this little chapter, even with all its little twists and turns. I probably just keep confusing you with the way things keep playing out, but there is a method to my madness and it will be revealed in the end._

_And now onto the shout outs…_

_KawaiiYamato: By the end of this story Shirako is going to be doing more than just talking, he's going to be yelling his head off…of course it'll be at Trinity. At which point she'll more than likely be ready to punch him squarely in the face. You know, I've already got the sequel for this story partially planned out and a working title for it as well…what do you think of 'The Lies That Shroud The Truth'? It seems that for every lie that discovered within the original story there's about two more that were created to hide the truth even more. Now I hope you understand that I do expect you to update as soon as is possible, even if it requires threatening your computer. I threaten mine on a daily basis, but it's not working as much as it use to. But I also understand that technology is a touchy thing and if it don't want you to update that's ok, I can wait, even if it won't be very patiently._

_Tristar: This is where things get sticky, there's no guarantee that the Drones are still involved since the whole scene with the destruction of Technetium and Accelium was completely fabricated on the two Silencerz parts. It's all truth that lies beyond the lies and everything is not at all as it seems, which is apparent with the appearance of the two destroyed Silencerz vehicles. Confused yet? I know I would be if I didn't know exactly what was going on._

_Dark672: At this point I would have to agree with you that it is still good. I'm finding myself delving more and more into the plot and all the twists that keep popping into my head._

_Dragoneian: I'm glad you thought the chapter was great and I try to update as much as is possible but sometimes life likes to get in the way. You should be happy to know that Chapter 9 is already completed. It'll be posted in a few days, once people have had time to digest what's occurred in this chapter. I hope you continue to read and thank you so very much for your support._

_MoonRavenX: Yes, Shirako is innocent, but you'll be amazed once you learn who really was behind the crash that claimed Serena's life and changed Trinity into what she is now. It's true that the Silencerz were behind it, but it's who was driving the car that created the accident that will shock you and there will be other things that will be revealed that I'm quite sure no one is expecting._

_Southernlady: I know what happens! Sorry, couldn't resist I'm in a strange mood at the moment and am finding humor in the simplest thing, like the fact that Trinity threatens to bounce Karma's head off of Bass Assault's hood. No, you didn't miss that in this chapter, it's in the next one. I just gave you a sneak peak! Again, I'm laughing for no apparent reason…ignore the author who is about to fall off her chair._

_KTezla: I think I'm just gonna start calling you Kara from now on, if you don't mind. I read minds? Wow, cool, a power I didn't even know I had! You know, I kept checking and checking my e-mail to see if I'd gotten an alert that you'd reviewed and finally, there it was! I'm all happy now. I bought Ignition and The Speed of Silence for my son and I think I've watched them a lot more than he has, in fact I've watched them quite a few times while he's been at school. I also taped The Ultimate Race and I have got to say that one of my favorite scenes is where Shirako uses the jump jets on Bassline to take care of some of the Drones. It was awesome! Yeah, I hope the Administrator gets back to you soon too. From what I've seen the place seems pretty cool, though I don't have much experience with places like that. I normally stick to IMing people and writing fictions for my favorite shows, this will be something new for me! I hope you get your own e-mail soon too and when I do IM you I'll just say it's me Wings so you'll know, cause I will definitely be IMing you at some point, you can count on that. I checked out your Xanga site shortly after I got the alert of your e-mail, reminds me of my live journal, might have to sign up for one of these things too. Hope to hear from you soon and hope you've enjoyed this chapter, it was definitely something to write._


	9. The Path That Shouldn't Be Taken

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Author's Note: Well, another chapter up and ready for you to read. Hope you enjoy it and please be kind enough to review. I've either lost readers or people aren't reviewing as much as they use to. I only got four reviews for the last chapter, but huge thanks go to those four and I'd love to do the shout outs but we're not allowed to do that anymore so again I'll just say thank you to those who were kind enough to review. Oh, and it may be a while until the next chapter is uploaded, I'm having some serious issues with it. I had 8 pages written and after reading over them decided I didn't like the way the chapter was going so I am currently rewriting it at the moment. If anyone would care to help out, let me know…in some way, IM me or e-mail or leave a review. I would greatly appreciate any help I could get at this time.

A/N 2: Thank you to MoonRavenX for pointing out the fact that Chapter 9 was repeated in Chapter 8 and that Chapter 8 was actually missing in its entirety. I've fixed that problem, whether it was actually my fault or the site's, I'm not sure but the actual Chapter 8 is posted in its correct spot. You may want to back track and read that to understand what was occurring in this repeated chapter since I seem to have screwed up…or someone did.

Summary: The trip back proves to be dangerous in its own right as the Silencerz once again make their presence known. As if that's not bad enough, Trinity and Karma clash right off the bat.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 9: The Path That Shouldn't Be Taken

They had been driving for what seemed like an eternity to Vert, the darkness of the horizon slowly giving way to the encroaching dawn. The tendrils of the rising sun slowly weaved their way into the blackness of the dimming night, a beautiful sunrise accompanying their crossing of state lines into California. It would only be a matter of a few more hours until he was finally home; then he could explain all that had happened to his friends and teammates and then plans would be made about where to go from there.

By all rights, they should have entered California's state lines a while ago, but they'd made several stops that Trinity hadn't been planning. Jon's Neon was indeed a gas hog and the car couldn't even make a 300 mile trip without draining its tank dry, they'd had to stop about every two to two and a half hours so he could fill the tank up. Then as if that hadn't been bad enough, Street Thunder had blown a water hose and the resulting water vapor had caused some minor damage. Courtney had been able to make some temporary repairs, but the car would have to be taken to a garage soon, the engine temperature kept rising into the red zone.

Of course that meant they'd have to stop for a little while to allow Street Thunder's engine to cool. They could travel about two hours before the needle would hit the red zone, at about the same time that Thunderhead would need refueled again. It seemed everything was working against them and Vert had said to Leti at one point that it was as if the universe was attempting in everyway possible to keep Shirako and Trinity from coming face to face.

His attention was drawn back to the cars traveling in front of him as Trinity switched her turn signal on and seconds later her car begun its quick swerve into the passing lane.

The Atomic Winds seemed to flow from one lane to the other on the interstate, almost as if an invisible cord connected them and pulled each car into the slipstream of the car in front. It was something amazing to watch, something that showed that this group had been traveling with one another for a while, long enough to be able to predict their teammates moves before the move was even actually made.

Trinity was in the lead, with Courtney following closely behind, barely a car length separating the two cars. Vert came next in line with Leti coming up behind him, behind her was Mikey and Omega One and bringing up the rear of the pack was Jon and Thunderhead.

Trinity moved Bass Assault into the passing lane; a slow moving vehicle appeared suddenly in the regular lane once the Lancer had completed its transition from one lane to the other. Courtney followed smoothly behind her cousin and Vert mimicked the move. He watched as Leti brought Powerdyne into the passing lane as well and Mikey followed her over. Jon was just starting to move into the lane when another car suddenly blew up next to him, seemingly coming from nowhere.

Jon quickly threw Thunderhead back into the slower moving lane, his headlights flashing in irritation, letting the other car know they had made a mistake. Mikey's headlights suddenly turned into taillights as Omega One was thrown into a spin, the interloper having bumped him from behind.

Leti swerved Powerdyne into the slower moving lane, giving the maniac behind her clear reign on the passing lane, not wanting to be thrown into the same fate at Mikey and Omega One.

Vert quickly followed Leti's example and moved Reverb into the slower lane and watched as Courtney did the same thing. He looked out his side window and his breath caught in his throat as he got a clear look at the car that was pulling up along side of him. It was a Silencerz vehicle.

Octainium slowed down minutely, both Reverb and the Silencerz car keeping pace with one another. The silver and purple trimmed car revved its engine; the purple tires suddenly squealing in protest as the car took off like a rocket, barreling up to almost hit the back bumper of Bass Assault. Trinity hadn't moved her car over to let the stranger pass, as far as she was concerned she ruled the road and wasn't giving an inch to some unknown.

Trinity's car suddenly swerved out of control, front end attempting to spin around to meet the rear end as the front bumper of Octainium connected with Bass Assault's rear. The Lancer did a few spins in the middle of the road before righting itself and taking off. The two tone blue car took off at a high rate of speed, leaving the rest of the Atomic Winds to wonder exactly what had happened.

"Trinity!" Vert screamed, his cousin had no clue what she was up against. The driver of that vehicle would have no qualms about taking her out and wouldn't think twice about doing so. He could very likely be watching the demise of yet another one of his cousins.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Trinity growled beneath her breath, her knuckles turning white where they gripped the steering wheel. She couldn't believe the audacity of that driver. To come up out of nowhere like that and nearly take her car out. It took some nerve!

Her eyes narrowed as they sought out the taillights of the silver and purple trimmed vehicle. It was time for some payback.

Her teeth clenched, another growl erupted from deep within her throat, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, definitely not this time. You definitely ain't gonna win this time."

Gunning the engine and listening to the horsepower that suddenly hummed through the engine, a maniacal grin suddenly appeared on her lips. She caught sight of the taillights of the other vehicle and an almost dark laugh escaped from her throat. "Paybacks are a bitch," she said softly, a note of hysterics creeping into her voice.

She caught up to the other vehicle quickly; it almost seemed as if the other driver had slowed down intentionally. Flooring the pedal, Bass Assault power jacked itself and closed the distance between itself and the Silencerz vehicle. Without warning, the nose of her car connected hard with the back end of the other, this time throwing the other car into a spin and sending it right off the road and into a ditch. Though Bass Assault hadn't come out of the skirmish unscathed either, now the front end of the Lancer sported a nice dent and the driver's side headlight was smashed.

"Never learn, do ya?" she said softly and continued on her way. Knowing without looking back that the rest of the Atomic Winds would fall in behind her, none would stop to see if the driver of the silver and purple car was all right. As far as anyone would be concerned, they had gotten what was coming to them. No one messed with any of the Atomic Winds cars, not without expecting some sort of reprisal.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

There was something drawing him from his peaceful sleep, something enticing him to wake up. Ok, maybe enticing wasn't the correct word since he really didn't want to wake up, but it seemed to be calling to him, almost ordering him to wake up. It was like a siren's call, something just barely touching his consciousness; a thumping in the back of his mind, a tickle that just wouldn't go away.

He didn't want to heed the call, didn't want to give into it. He wanted just a few more minutes of blissful slumber, just a few more minutes to allow his mind to drown in the quickly dissipating images of his dreams.

He seriously didn't want to get up, even if the cold ground he was sleeping upon was uncomfortable as all hell. Couldn't the siren call just let him be for a few more minutes?

Apparently his wishes weren't to be answered as a sudden echoing of bass reverberated through the silence of the early morning, or was it closer to late morning? He and the rest of the drivers hadn't gone to sleep right away; it was close to four or so in the morning before they had finally decided to call it quits and try to find the best possible positions to sleep in on the cold, hard ground of the desert. Shirako had been filling them in on what he had been told by both Vert and Leti and the apparent need for revenge that Vert's one cousin felt needed to be absolved on Shirako. Trinity, he thought her name was, or something along those lines. Shirako had also explained that no one was to mention a thing about Bassline while the Atomic Winds were visiting.

The pounding bass continued to thump in the otherwise near silence of the desert, setting his teeth on edge and a light pounding in his temples was beginning to keep pace with the rhythm of the bass. He felt a sudden urge to throw the nearest object at Shirako. Even if said nearest object just happened to be a heavy stone.

Couldn't his fellow Teku driver keep his music down to a dull roar, at least so the rest of them could attempt to get a peaceful night's sleep?

The booming of the bass was growing louder and echoing fiercely though his head. Damn, it was starting to give him a serious headache! He opened one eye and closed it again quickly against the already risen sun. Yes, his head hurt and it wasn't entirely from the echoing bass in the background. It was partially from the cold ground and the rock that he had used as a pillow. A damn uncomfortable pillow at that!

His fingers searched around in the sand and dirt that surrounded him until they finally curled around a small but hard object. It was a tiny rock, but it would suffice. Granted he was a Teku and could found listening to the same type of music as Shirako, but not this early in the damn morning. Even he had his limitations.

And this was one of them!

Without opening his eyes to see where he was throwing the small stone, he heaved it into the air, in the general direction he knew Shirako was in and listened for a moment. He was rewarded with hearing Shirako give a groan of pain.

Or at least he thought it was Shirako at first.

"What was that for?" Taro grumbled as he rubbed a forming small red welt on his arm. Karma had sat up as well, her hands rubbing the sleep from her eyes, then she attempted to peer at Kurt, her eyes questioning him as well.

The bass could still be heard reverberating through the stillness of the morning and growing louder with each passing second, but Kurt suddenly realized that it was coming from the distance, not from any of them. He quickly turned, a look of surprise crossing his face as he took in the place where Shirako was still laying down, his headphones draped around his neck and _silent_. Then Kurt's eyes met those of Taro and Karma, his gaze questioning, "If it's not Shirako…than who…?" he turned his eyes to look in the direction that the music was coming from. Blinking from the brightness of the sun, he shaded his eyes, scanning the surrounding landscape.

Then he spotted it, a dust trail in the distance.

Taro and Karma were staring in the same direction. "Dunno," came Taro's simple answer, "But I think we'll be finding out in a few."

Kurt turned once more to look at Taro then glanced over at Karma, she was leaning against Taro and looked like she was about to fall back asleep, her head laying gently against his shoulder. "Sorry about the stone, I was aiming for Shirako; I thought it was his music."

"No problem," Taro said as he turned his dark gaze to look at Kurt. "Think we should wake the others?"

Kurt shook his head; he had feeling that the pounding bass would do that soon enough. The cars were still a good distance away yet the music was up loud enough to reach them, even this far away. He heard a groan to his left and turned to look at where Pork Chop was still laying on the ground, an arm thrown up over his head as if to ward the music off.

"Shut that damn crap off Stinku," Pork Chop muttered, rolling over onto his side, trying to face away from the oncoming music. Not that that would help much, not once those cars reached their current position.

Kurt glanced over at Taro and gave the Metal Maniac a slight grin, the briefest of smirks played across Taro's face. They both knew that Pork Chop was about to get a rude awakening and both also knew that they probably wouldn't hear the end of it for a while once Pork Chop did wake up.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Vert could see the Sweeper in the distance, but they weren't close enough yet to see his friends, but he knew they were there. Behind the Sweeper stood the blackened remains of what was left of the AcceleDrome. One question swam through his mind: _Would Tezla be able to rebuild it or would the scientist start from scratch someplace else?_

The blue Lancer pulled up along side of Reverb and he glanced over at his cousin. She motioned ahead of them, toward the looming Sweeper and the still smoldering AcceleDrome. He motioned back to her that that was where they were heading. She nodded her head in understanding and fell back so that her car was driving behind him now.

The four other cars of the Atomic Winds were fanned out behind her, kicking dirt up in every direction. He suspected that his friends were probably already able to see their dust trail, but they had probably heard Trinity's pounding bass a long time ago.

He continued on, excitement eating at him, knowing that within a few minutes he would finally be reunited with his friends and teammates. Decisions would then have to be made and explanations as well. They'd have to decide exactly how much to reveal to the Atomic Winds and what to leave out. There would be a lot of questions on both sides' parts.

Would they be able to reveal everything to these outsiders or would Tezla decide on secrecy like always? Would it really hurt to tell his cousins and their friends about the Wheel of Power and the Racing Realms? To tell them about the Drones and Silencerz? To reveal the truth about the car that had tried to take them out earlier on the interstate? Would it hurt to reveal everything, now that the AcceleDrome was destroyed and there wasn't much of a chance in getting into the Racing Realms, at least not until a new base of operations could be constructed?

But the decision wasn't up to him; it would be up to all of them, if Tezla would let them explain. He remembered Tezla's anger when the AcceleDrome's location had been revealed to Shirako and Nolo and then moments later to Tork and Pork Chop. They had needed their help though; they didn't need the help of the Atomic Winds.

Now he could see small shapes in the distance. Some were sitting on the ground while others were standing up, watching the six cars approach. It appeared that some of his friends were still lying on the ground, probably still asleep. They wouldn't be for much longer, not with how loud Trinity was playing her music.

He had tried talking her into lowering it a few decibels, but that had only earned him a glare and a rather unladylike snort from his cousin. She liked her music loud and wasn't going to lower it for nobody, even friends of his. It amazed Vert exactly how much alike Trinity and Shirako were; he suspected if circumstances were different they could probably forge a solid friendship, but that wasn't possible. She'd somehow find out about Bassline then and then all hell would break loose. It would be best if she never new, best if he could just keep her and Shirako separated, which probably wouldn't be to hard to do since the Teku and Maniacs already knew about the situation.

He slowed down a bit, Trinity almost bumping into his rear fender. Then he heard her car accelerate and felt the tell tale light bump from behind. _"She has a bad habit of bump drafting, probably a good thing we're all following her at the moment,"_ he recalled Courtney telling him one of the many times they had stopped so that Jon could fill up the tank on his Neon and Street Thunder's engine could cool down.

Vert shook his head and laughed. He had thought they would make good time, he hadn't realized at the time that the Neon was such a gas hog; he'd thought that his two cousins were simply over exaggerating. It just didn't seem right for a car that small to suck the gas up the way that the car did. Then there was the fact that they'd had to stop a couple of times to eat, that hadn't helped out their time much either.

He felt another light bump from behind. In response he slowed his car down even further, only to feel her car hit his back bumper a bit more solidly. Ouch, that was most definitely going to leave a mark! Not that it was going to matter much where Bass Assault was concerned; the Lancer's front end was still messed up.

She seemed to have gotten the hint though and backed off. Now she was trailing behind him by a couple of car lengths, the rest of the cars slowing down in response to their leader.

Finally, they reached the Sweeper and Vert turned Reverb quickly, drifting the car to the left and throwing up a shower of dirt and dust onto his friends. He heard a couple cries of outrage that turned into complete shock as everyone scattered in different directions.

Apparently Trinity had decided she needed to show off as well. He turned his head to see exactly what was going on and couldn't hide the smirk that crossed his face. Trinity had forced her car into a tight spin and preformed a perfectly executed 360, almost in the middle of his friends. That would explain the sudden shouts of surprise.

The other four Atomic Winds must've decided not to show off for their cars were parked in a perfect line. Trin's car was sitting broadside, about ten yards in front of her teammates.

He watched as Nolo approached Reverb and waited for the shouting that was sure to follow. "You crazy ass!" he heard Karma shout, her hands slamming down on the front of the Lancer's hood.

"You could've seriously hurt someone pulling a stunt like that!" he heard Kurt shout, standing behind Karma.

He got out of Reverb and turned to face Nolo, "'Bout time you got here, we were beginning to worry." Nolo said, closing the distance between him and Vert and clasping hands with his teammate.

"No worries," he said. He then turned to look at the scene that was unfolding before him. Karma still had her hands placed firmly on the hood of his cousin's car. Kurt was now standing on her left and Taro had appeared on her right.

Pork Chop was just approaching the Lancer, his face contorted in a look of agitation. Though Trinity had turned her music down, it was still loud enough to make it difficult to hear normal speech. Everyone was yelling just to be heard above it. It seemed that only Shirako was unphased by it, he was standing away from everyone else, his head like normal bopping to the beat.

Vert looked at Nolo and made a motion with his head, indicating that they should go over before something broke out. Vert removed his helmet, placing it in Reverb and started walking toward his cousins and the rest of the group, Nolo falling in beside him.

"This should be interesting," Nolo said quietly, just loud enough that Vert was able to hear him.

Vert turned his head to look at Nolo, "It would be in Karma's best interest to get her hands off of Bass Assault before Trinity comes out swinging." There was a sparkle of mischief in his eyes as he said this, almost as if he wanted to see his cousin go after his own teammate. Or maybe it was vice versa, it had been a while since someone had put Trinity in her place.

They had just reached the five cars when it suddenly went deathly quiet. The pounding bass from the Lancer had been silenced. The driver's side door slowly swung open and Trinity carefully got out of her car, throwing her helmet inside on the passenger seat. Her blue eyes snapped fire as she turned to regard the woman that had enough nerve to pound her fists onto the hood of Bass Assault. "My front end already has enough damage done to it, I'd hate to have to include slamming your head into the hood amongst the damage, so would you kindly remove your hands from my car?"

The silence that suddenly descended on the group was palatable. No one uttered a word; most eyes were opened wide in surprise while a few mouths were dropped in amazement.


	10. The Fight That Almost Was

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Summary: Luckily Karma and Trinity don't come to blows; their teammates make sure of that. Vert and Nolo discuss Trinity's hatred of the white truck and Nolo relives his past hatred of Tork.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 10: The Fight That Almost Was

"My front end already has enough damage done to it, I'd hate to have to include slamming your head into the hood amongst the damage, so would you kindly remove your hands from my car?"

The silence that suddenly descended on the group was palatable. No one uttered a word; most eyes were opened wide in surprise while a few mouths were dropped in amazement.

This girl had just threatened Karma! That couldn't be a good thing.

Karma just looked at the girl, giving her a look as if to say 'Are _you_ talking to me?'

"Trinity," Vert said softly as he stepped up next to his cousin. She was a hot head when she wanted to be and this was apparently going to be one of those times. Her fists were clenched next to her sides and her eyes held a look of vehemence. "Trin, you promised to behave." Vert said softly, hoping to talk some sense into her before she did something she was bound to regret later.

She turned to glare at him, her blue eyes snapping fire. She could deal with people belittling her, putting her down or degrading her, but the one thing she couldn't deal with was someone trying to pummel the hell out of her car. _That_ was something she couldn't and wouldn't stand for!

"Back off Vert," Karma nearly spat out. She was bound and determined that she was going to have it out with this girl, one way or the other.

"Yeah Vert, stay out of it," Trinity agreed. "This is between her and me; you keep your nose out of it."

Karma stepped right up to Trinity so that barely a foot separated them; the only thing between them was the door of the Lancer. Whose advantage that was at the moment was indeterminable. "You threatening me girl?" Karma asked from between clenched teeth.

Trinity allowed her eyes to traverse from Karma's feet up to her head, silently making assessments on whether or not she could feasibly take this girl or get the living shit kicked out of her while trying. She snorted and rolled her eyes, "If the shoe fits, I would have to say yeah." Came the smart remark as a comeback.

Karma literally growled low in her throat; with each passing second she was beginning to like this girl less and less. She seemed to enjoy rubbing one the wrong way. "You've got a mouth on you…and that's going to land you in a lot of trouble."

"Not the first, certainly ain't gonna be the last," Trinity responded, enjoying the game of words. There was something about this young woman that she liked, something that reminded her a lot of herself. In the end, that would be a bad thing though, their personalities would clash, they were just too similar.

"I could easily make it the last," Karma offered. Whereas Karma was growing irritated, this other girl seemed to be enjoying herself. Apparently she thrived on conflict or just enjoyed it entirely too much.

"Oh?" Trinity questioned as one of her brows raised in interest. "And just pray-tell, how do you plan on doing that?"

Vert knew he needed to stop this before it escalated any further, he also knew that neither Karma nor Trinity would back down without some intervention. Each was just as stubborn as the other. Apparently he wasn't the only one thinking along these lines he noticed as both Kurt and Taro stepped up behind Karma and gently laid a hand on either one of her arms. At the same time he watched from the corner of his eye as Courtney and Mikey cautiously approached Trinity, each knowing that surprising their hotheaded leader could land them with a couple of bruises as well as matching black eyes. Something neither really wished to experience at the moment or any other time for that matter.

"Trinity," he heard Courtney speaking softly, "the Winds are guests here, it'll do no good to start something with the locals. You know that always ends badly." A faint smile quirked the edges of her lips, "You remember the last time someone started something with one of us, the rest of us were there to back them up." She slowly glanced around at the assembled group. "I really don't feel like trying to take on this group, we're outnumbered after all. The odds are stacked against us."

Trinity's eyes casually glanced around the gathered group and she quickly figured the odds. Yes, the odds were indeed stacked against the Atomic Winds; if a fight did break out, they held no chance of coming out the victors. She allowed her eyes to linger on her adversary for a few seconds before she finally spoke and it was apparent when she did so that her words did not come easy, "I'm sorry. I allowed my emotions to rule my judgment, something I've very extremely guilty of as of lately."

Karma stared at her for a few moments, deciding whether or not she should accept the apology or push the issue. By the looks she was receiving from Vert she decided quickly that she should accept and forget about it for now. But the girl required watching, there was just something about her that rubbed her the wrong way, there was something untrustworthy about her. Or perhaps it was just that she was as stubborn as Karma herself was.

"Fine," Karma said, but she kept her voice cool and neutral, allowing the girl to know that she didn't consider the issue closed in the least. She extended a hand in politeness, "I'm Karma Eiss."

Trinity smiled but it was apparent from the look in her eyes that it was forced, though she liked this young woman and enjoyed the whole war of words, she could take the hint when an apology wasn't truly accepted. She took the offered hand, "Trinity Wheeler."

Vert released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, he'd been worried that for a little while there things were going to come to blows and he certainly wouldn't put it past Trinity. It amazed him exactly how much she had changed, she had never been this way before. Certainly she had loved to argue to a fault, but she'd always known when to back down before it got out of hand. Now she seemed to want the arguments just for the fact that they could result in the throws of punches.

Nolo stepped up past Vert and held out a hand to Trinity, "Nolo Pasaro, leader of the Teku."

Trinity smiled at him, an actual smile and shook his hand. "Trinity Wheeler, leader of the Atomic Winds." She glanced behind her at Courtney and Mikey. "This is my cousin Courtney Brehm and Mikey Douglas." Her eyes drifted to where Leti and Jon were still standing, just behind Bass Assault. "That's Leti Orimoto and Jon Ryder."

Nolo smiled at her then gestured toward his own teammates. He first hitched his thumb towards Vert, "I can already guess that you know Vert." She smiled then nodded at his little jab of humor. She had a feeling that she was going to really like this guy. His fingers then indicated one of the men still with a light grip on Karma. "That would be Kurt Wylde standing behind Karma." He pointed to where Shirako was standing apart from the rest of the group, his headphones on and turned up, practically drowning out the conversations going on around him. "That would be Shirako Takamoto."

Vert watched Trinity for any form of recognition or anger. She just simply nodded her head in Shirako's general direction, not even paying attention to see if he returned her nod or not as Tork suddenly stepped forward.

He extended a hand to her, "I'm Tork Maddox, leader of the Metal Maniacs."

"Metal Maniacs?" she questioned. "Interesting name ya got there."

He smiled at her, "That's Taro Kitano," He gestured toward the other guy that was standing next to Karma now. The Asian man seemed to be watching the still fuming young woman, keeping a careful eye on her just in case she decided to restart the fight where it had been ended at. Trinity nodded her head toward him then paid him no more attention.

"That's Markie Wylde," Tork began.

"It's Wylde," the temperamental dark haired man nearly snarled, but there was something hidden in his voice, as if the anger wasn't really there. Trinity figured he was going to prove to be something of interest.

"He prefers to just be called Wylde," Tork explained.

"He's related to the other one, isn't he?" Trinity questioned, throwing a hand nonchalantly toward Kurt.

"He and Kurt are brothers," Tork answered. He then indicated where Monkey and Pork Chop were standing. "That's Monkey and Pork Chop."

She glanced first at the skinny one than at the larger man; she could understand where their names came from. "Interesting names there," she simply stated.

"Some nice cars you got there," Kurt said as he sauntered up. He figured it'd be best to try and take everyone's minds off of the fight that had almost been and cars were the easiest way to do so.

Trinity turned her attention to the four cars parked in a line beyond Bass Assault. With a resounding thud she shut the door to the Lancer. "This is Bass Assault, she's got one of the best systems around." She then gestured towards the other cars. "The Supra is Street Thunder, she belongs to Courtney. The Mustang is Powerdyne and is Leti's. The Civic belongs to Mikey and is called Omega One and the Neon is Jon's piece of shit and he calls it Thunderhead."

"We call it Crash and Burn or Gas-hog, depending on the mood at the time," Courtney said as she walked up to stand next to her cousins. "That car has seen more accidents in the past two years than all our other cars combined have in those same two years."

"At least my car has been drivable after those accidents," Jon said snidely beneath his breath. He hadn't intended for anyone to hear it, least of all Trinity.

She was just the one to hear it though.

She turned angry eyes on him, "What exactly did you say?"

He turned wide frightened eyes to her. He stuttered as he attempted to reply. "N-nothing. I-I was j-just mumbling to m-myself, t-that's all." He backed up slightly, almost hiding behind Leti, as if to use the Asian girl as a shield. Not that it would matter, if Trinity wanted to get her hands on him she would, one way or another.

"Your cars any good?" Tork asked, drawing her attention back to him and the rest of the group.

"Depends on what you mean by good," Trinity responded. "Each one of our cars has a specific set up, something that that car excels at that the rest don't. Bass Assault has one kick ass system installed; her audio output far exceeds the rest of the cars. She's our rave car. She also excels in drifting."

She pointed over towards the Supra, "Street Thunder is our street car, which her name also implies. On a street track she's almost impossible to beat, as well as any circuits."

Next she gestured towards the yellow Mustang, "When it comes to races set up on racetracks Powerdyne's the car to beat. She's set up to handle the smooth tracks and tight turns."

"Omega One's our sprinter. Mikey has her set up for quick acceleration." Courtney spoke up. Trinity smiled at her and nodded.

"Thunderhead's good for drag racing and that's usually when Jon ends up hitting the nearest object, whether it be an opponent's car or something else. That's probably why we don't let our cars enter into very many drag races; we can't afford all the repair bills." Courtney explained, her cheeks tinged slightly with pink considering the way she was talking about her boyfriend. He wasn't the greatest driver, it was true.

Nolo was only partially listening; he'd managed to pull both himself and Vert away from the crowd. They were far enough away that he wouldn't have to worry about unwanted ears hearing what was about to be said. He had some questions he wanted answered and he wanted them answered now.

Vert looked at him, one of his eyebrows raised in curiosity. "What's up?" the blond finally asked, wondering exactly why his team leader had drug him away from the crowd. He needed to keep an eye on his cousin; he couldn't afford her doing something stupid, like starting another argument.

Nolo's voice was low, a hushed whisper. "What's exactly the deal with your cousin Vert? We can't afford any trouble right now, not with things the way they are."

Vert forced his breath out calmly, he needed to stay cool as he explained things the best he could, but even he didn't have all the answers to give. "I'm gonna guess that Shirako filled you in on most of everything, at least what Leti and I told him." It was more of an expressed observation than it was a question.

Nolo nodded his head.

"Here's the deal. About three weeks ago there was an accident; it involved both Trinity and her twin sister Serena. I'm not 100 percent on what happened but what I do know is that this truck came out of nowhere and whipped Trin's car around. Trin's car then slid into Serena's and piledrived it into a tree. Trinity wasn't seriously hurt but Serena was killed. The truck I'm assuming high-tailed it from the accident scene, but Trinity got a good look at it before hand. The others saw it as well." He paused for a moment as his gaze landed first on Leti than on Shirako.

He sighed as one of his hands ran through his mussed hair. "Leti recognized the truck as Bassline; the only problem is that she didn't know at the time that Bassline was still being completed. She kept the identity of the truck from Trinity and the rest of the Atomic Winds." Almost as an afterthought he added, "Shirako and Leti are cousins."

"Yeah, Shirako explained that part." Nolo responded.

"Anyhow, Leti and I are afraid that if Trinity discovers that Shirako had a truck that matched the one that ran her off the road and resulted in Serena's death that she'll try to take him out in retribution. That's why we don't want anyone mentioning about the truck, we don't know how she'd handle it or what she'd do." He glanced back towards Trinity and Courtney. "She hasn't been herself; this girl is one I don't know." He looked back at Nolo. "She was never this-" he paused as he sought a word that would describe what his cousin had become. "Ruthless? Heartless? I'm not sure on how to describe who she is now."

Nolo nodded his head, he could relate to what the girl was feeling. He'd been down that road himself. His eyes briefly sought out Tork. Yes indeed, he had been down that road at one point in time. It was something she'd have to overcome herself, something she'd have to work through on her own. But he could still understand her feelings and the changes that they inevitably created.

Vert was silent for a few seconds, allowing his friend and leader to digest what he had just been told. "We just have to make certain that she never finds out. Leti and I both know it's not possible for it to have been Shirako."

"But her own emotions will blind her to the truth," Nolo said softly. "It won't matter how much you try to tell her otherwise, she won't listen. She'll have to learn the truth herself before she believes otherwise."

Vert stared at him for the space of a heartbeat. He understood exactly what his friend was talking about; they all had seen the same attitude in Nolo until he had finally admitted to himself that Tork was not responsible for Tone's death. Once he had opened his eyes and allowed his mind to process the truth of the matter he'd returned to the person he had once been. Then he'd been able to deal with his hatred of Tork, though they couldn't be called the best of friends, Nolo was no longer trying to take Tork out at every available opportunity.

Both young men stared at where Trinity was now talking with Courtney, Shirako and Leti. Vert didn't know if he should worry about the fact that Trinity was talking to Shirako or not. She didn't know about Bassline and if he had anything to do about it, she never would.

_In the next chapter we fast forward through time by a couple of days and watch the growing friendships between the Metal Maniacs, the Teku and the Atomic Winds. Things heat up as feelings start to lean toward romance for a couple of the characters. _

_Leave a review and let me know what you thought of this latest piece of work. It was ok in my opinion and when I was originally writing it I had a few different details included that once reading over I decided didn't quite fit in yet. Maybe at a later date I'll allow the missing pieces to fall into someplace, somewhere. Or maybe not. Anyhow, review!_


	11. Creature from the Blue LagoonMaybe

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Summary: The Teku and Maniacs begin plans for their new cars. Tezla blows a fuse as he attempts to recreate the holographic image of the Wheel and one of the Atomic Winds has an accident…of a humorous kind.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 11: Creature from the Blue Lagoon…Maybe

It hadn't taken Tezla long to find another place to call home, and because of this fact the drivers wondered if he hadn't had this place picked out a long time ago just in case something was to happen to the AcceleDrome. If that was the case, was it also possible that he had other locations chosen too, as a contingency plan?

It was a two story affair, set into the side of a rolling hill, with a large basement below. The upper story consisted of the bedrooms and other various rooms set up for whatever the strange and secretive scientist had up his sleeve at the moment. The lower story was made up of a kitchen, living room, dining room and a few other rooms intended for Heaven knows what. There were multiple bathrooms on each floor and some of the bathrooms connected a few of the bedrooms together.

The basement below had been converted into a rather large and roomy garage and work area. There were two sectioned off bays, similar to those in the AcceleDrome that had each of the teams' logos before their entrances. All in all, it was reminiscent of the AcceleDrome but different in its own way. It held its secrets as well.

Beneath the cavernous basement, known only to Tezla, Lani, the Teku and Metal Maniacs was the recreated AcceleDrome. There were two large garage-type doors hidden in each of the teams' bays that led down to the new AcceleDrome. Through these doors, when the time was deemed right, the rebuilt cars could be transported to the still in production hologram of the Wheel of Power.

The sun had just risen and the drivers could be found down in the bays working on new cars, parts and sheet metal strewn all about the floor. Five cars were sitting out beyond the two sectioned off bays, belonging to neither the Teku nor Metal Maniacs, these cars belonged to the Atomic Winds.

Kurt stared at the blue prints spread out on the table in front of him, something about this new car didn't look right; something just didn't sit well with him. It was missing something, though he wasn't sure what. Maybe the spoiler was too small for the body of the car? Perhaps the front end looked to small for the engine that was going to be placed there? Maybe it was just the whole car itself!

"Problems?" Nolo asked as he walked over to the table that Kurt was sitting at. There was a perplexed and almost disgusted look on his teammate's face.

Kurt looked up at him and blinked several times, his eyes going fuzzy from looking at the blue prints for entirely far to long. Then he ran a hand through his dark hair and shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure which car this one is supposed to be based off of. I originally thought of going along with Battle Spec's plans, but this car seems similar to Slingshot." He sighed and looked back down at the blue prints. "They were completely different cars…I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for here Nolo."

Nolo looked down at the car on the blue prints and smiled to himself. He already had his car started, the frame for it welded and ready for the chassis and everything else to be added. It probably didn't help that he hadn't been sleeping too much lately either; he'd probably gotten four hours sleep in the past three nights. That's if he was lucky.

He laid a hand on Kurt's shoulder, "What ever you come up with will be fine." He glanced over at where the rest of his teammates were working. Shirako was of course working on another truck, one reminiscent of Bassline, but slightly different. It still packed the six speaker set up, something Vert had argued diligently against. Nolo had pointed out that Trinity and the Atomic Winds would be long gone by the time this new truck was built. That had seemed to appease his blond haired friend. For the moment at least.

At least Vert didn't have to worry about building a new car, he still had Reverb, but the blond had still insisted on building another one. Just in case, he had said.

Karma was working on something, surprisingly it was similar to the Lancer that Vert's cousin drove. Along the same lines as the car, but with a style that was all Karma.

Nolo sighed and stretched, his muscles feeling extremely cramped; he was exhausted and beginning to feel his lack of sleep. He allowed his shoulders to slump slightly as he walked over toward the welded frame of his burgeoning car. This was gonna be Synkro all over again, except maybe this time with a slightly different paint scheme. Green maybe? Not a vivid green or dark one, maybe something along the lines of lime green. Techno green perhaps?

He shrugged slightly, allowing his muscles to further relax.

He jumped slightly as music suddenly crashed through the garage. He whirled around, glaring at where Shirako was sitting, the young Asian's laptop before him, his fingers diligently typing away at keys. His headphones were dropped down around his neck, the music turned off. Or at least Nolo presumed it was, there was no telling with the music that was now bouncing from wall to wall within their work area.

He caught Vert's eyes and also noticed that Kurt had gotten up from his work table and was walking toward the entrance into their bay. It didn't take long for both Karma and Vert to get up as well to follow their teammate. Shirako had finally stopped his typing and was staring in the direction of the entrance.

Nolo sighed as he turned and proceeded toward the entrance as well.

"This should be interesting," Karma said just loud enough to be heard above the blaring music.

Almost as if on cue the music was raised up a couple of notches, to the point where you had to yell at the person next to you just to be heard, even then there was no guarantee that they'd actually be able to understand what you were saying. Trinity was leaning against Bass Assault, her hands behind her head as she allowed her body to gently sway to the techno beat. Courtney and the rest of the Atomic Winds were either standing next to their own cars or had the hoods popped and inspecting parts beneath.

Kurt sighed and screamed into Nolo's ear, hoping his friend would be able to understand what it was he was saying, "She's doing it on purpose, just to irritate Pork Chop."

As if he knew he were being talked about, Pork Chop stalked from the Maniacs side of the spacious garage. His mouth was moving but no one could understand what it was he was screaming.

Trinity must've caught site of him or barely heard his screaming for she suddenly pushed herself away from the Lancer, turned around and leaned into the open window. Suddenly there was silence, except for Pork Chop's sudden yelling.

"-off, you're just as bad as Shirako with the blasted crap you call music!" he was screaming, half of what he had been saying having been drown out by Trinity's music.

She grinned innocently, "Something the matter?"

He stalked up to her, his face barely refrained anger. "It was bad enough when we had to listen to the crap that was blasted through that Teku's speakers, I damn well don't want to listen to your crap _now_."

"You don't like my music?"

"Don't like it?" Pork Chop sputtered, "I damn well can't stand it. I wouldn't call that shit music, its noise to blow ones hearing, that's what it is!"

Trinity's eyes sparkled as she raised her wrist and suddenly the garage was thumping with another strain of music. It wasn't the techno beat that had been vibrating through the area moments before, now it was something much softer and more mellow. It was softer in its beat, not as abrasive on ones ears, except for the fact that Bass Assault was adding extra bass to the mix, causing the car's windows to rattle.

This time there was actual lyrics with the instruments, actual words to be heard, if it wasn't for the pounding bass attempting to drown them out.

Pork Chop ground his teeth together and glared at the Atomic Winds leader. She only smiled back at him. "Better?" she asked and she couldn't hide the smugness from her voice.

He snorted but turned around and stalked back into his own work area. One way or another he'd make it so that the new stereo on wheels wouldn't work.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Lani stared at Dr. Tezla, she was trying to figure out what it was that was going through his head but that was like attempting to discover the mysteries of the universe. Nearly impossible. He was sitting at one of the computer terminals in the new AcceleDrome, his eyes had been fastened to this one particular computer screen for the past three hours. He hadn't even moved during that time, at least not that she was aware of.

"Dr. Tezla, exactly what is it that you're doing?" she finally dared to ask.

He didn't seem to hear her, or at least gave no indication that he had. He hadn't so much as moved, didn't even turn around to look at her.

He was too engrossed in his work, had been ever since he had moved what was left of his operations to this particular fall back area. He had countless other locations selected in case his operations were ever needed to be moved, he'd planned for the worst case scenario. This was only one of a dozen such places, places he could go to continue his work.

He suddenly turned around in his chair, his purple shaded glasses near to the end of his nose as he looked up at her. "I think it may finally be ready," he said softly as he turned back around.

He hit a series of buttons on the control panel in front of him and waited. There was a surge of power and various lights on the board lit up. Below, in the main area of the new AcceleDrome a holographic image popped to life then suddenly blinked into none-existence as soon as it had appeared.

There was another raw surge of power then all hell broke loose. Lights began to flicker and various claxons began to emit their shrill sirens. The lights flickered once more then dimmed until the emergency lighting came on.

Tezla sighed and was tempted to slam his fist down on the darkened boards before him. What good would it do though, other than to give him a few seconds of pleasure?

"It wasn't supposed to do that, was it?" Lani questioned wearily.

Dr. Tezla turned around to look at her. "No, it wasn't," he answered.

Apparently he didn't have it after all; apparently there was still a lot of work that needed to be done until the new AcceleDrome was ready.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

There was a couple brief shouts of fright as the lights suddenly went out in the garage. Within seconds five cars had their headlights illuminated, offering what meager light they could to the darkened garage.

"What happened?" Karma asked as she and the rest of the Teku walked out to where the headlights were shining brightly on the Atomic Winds cars. She looked over at Nolo then glanced in the direction of the Maniacs as they to walked out, perplexed looks crossing their features as well.

"What happened?" Tork repeated Karma's earlier question.

"Someone blow a fuse or something?" Wylde questioned.

"We thought maybe you could tell us." Nolo responded.

"It's probably a breaker or something. Tezla should have it fixed in no time," Vert offered. The scientist had probably blow a fuse or something while working down in the secret chamber beneath the old mansion.

"I say if he doesn't have it fixed in, say about 10 minutes, we go look for the old man," Mikey opined. He didn't like the dark, especially in some creepy place he wasn't familiar with. He slept with a night light on at home; who in their right mind would think he'd feel comfortable in some creepy place like this with the lights out? There was probably some ax murderer in the place waiting in the shadows to get them all.

Omega One's driver suddenly felt someone jab him in the ribs, "The boogey man's not going to jump out and get you, least of all while we're all here." Trinity joked, trying to put her friend and teammate at ease. All of the Atomic Winds knew of his fear of the dark and knew the reasoning behind it as well.

"Besides, if he does he'll just give you back," Leti joked.

Mikey sidled around the front of Omega One's front so that he was standing in the Civic's headlights. He wanted to make sure that if something did decide to jump out and try to get him he'd at least have a fighting chance before it did him in. Maybe the ax murderer would go after the others first, give him a warning before it went after him. Or maybe it would be able to smell his fear and go after him first anyways. Or maybe it was some hideous creature from the blue lagoon and it was slinking its way around in this old creepy house, just waiting for them to let their guard down!

He laid a hand down on Omega One's hood, his whole body trembling with the thoughts that were suddenly running rampant through his mind.

"It's just a power outage, there's nothing in this house that's going to jump out and get us," Karma said once she had noticed the look of fear and panic that was plastered across the face of the Atomic Winds' Driver.

He looked at her, giving her a look as if to say she were nuts. His eyes were still wide with fear and the look of panic across his face probably would have been comical if the situation were different. It was something of interest to see a 'big, strong man' scared of the dark and looking like he were about ready to have an accident in his pants.

Courtney slowly walked up to her teammate, a look of sympathy crossing her face. "Hey Mikey," she said softly, "Everything's gonna be all right. The light'll come back on in a few moments and you'll see that nothing was going to jump out at you."

"Hello," an electronic voice said from the shadows, near the entrance to the Maniacs bay. This brought about a new surge of panic in the driver and he actually screamed and tried scrambling up onto the hood of his car.

Karma couldn't help the laugh that escaped from her mouth and attempted to cover it up with one of her hands. Courtney turned around to glare at the other driver, a look of promised torture crossing her face.

This brought a laugh from Trinity.

"I'm glad the both of you think it's funny," Courtney grumbled beneath her breath as she glared first at her cousin than at the Teku driver.

"Hello," the same voice from the darkness repeated.

"What is that thing?" Courtney nearly shouted as she watched the robot walk awkwardly from darkened shadows.

Mikey was up on top of his car, sitting on the roof as he watched the strange contraption of metal and bolts stop near one of the Metal Maniacs.

"That thing is Monkey's creation," Wylde griped, staring in annoyance at Sparky.

"What is it?" Courtney repeated.

"It's a robot," Monkey answered, giving the Atomic Winds a look as if to say 'Isn't-it-obvious?'

"It's a pile of junk," came from Wylde.

"Hello."

"Can't it say anything other than hello?" Courtney asked, eying Sparky with a look of disbelief.

"Sure he can," Monkey said, his voice sounding rather proud.

"Hello."

"Sure," Courtney said, giving a look to Monkey saying that she highly doubted it.

Suddenly the lights flickered then came back on, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the sudden brightness.

"I'm gonna go change quick," Mikey said, drawing everyone's attention back to the still frightened young man.

No one said a word as he climbed from the roof of his car and walked towards the door leading up into the main house. No one said a word, but as the door closed behind him there was a sudden fit of laughter that didn't die down till a few minutes afterwards.

_Well, I think we can all guess exactly what it was that Mikey did and why there was all the laughter after he left. Now I know I had said about some friendships leaning toward romance in the last chapter's end note and there was really no evidence of that occurring in this chapter, the reason was because for some odd reason when I plan for something to happen the story plan's otherwise. It just happened to do this again and ruined everything I did have planned, so hopefully sometime later on there will be evidence of the romance to come._

_I know we are not supposed to do this, but I feel the need to say thank you to those that have been kind enough to review…_

_Kara: Just as long as you review at some point I'm positively happy! Though I do look forward to your reviews. As for Trinity and Karma coming to blows, it will happen, but at a later date, there's some things that need to be brought into the light first. Yeah I'd read that 'Breaking Point's' release date is supposed to be 12/6 whether or not it's actual is still probably up for debate but I hope it's true. I haven't gotten to see it yet and really want to since I've seen the other three. In all honesty, I'd wanted to ask if I could use Kara as well, I think putting her and Trinity in the same story would be something of interest. Look for Kara to show up in the next chapter, I'd already had things planned out on how to introduce her into the scheme of things, I just didn't know how to go about asking if I could use her. You made it really very easy for me by asking yourself, thanks! I'm not sure what my favorite realm would be…one that had Shirako in it for sure! Yeah, I've got a lot of the trading cards, or actually I should say my son does but I think I've had hold of them a lot more than he has!_

_Dragoneian: I know what you mean with the whole deal of being sick, I've got a nasty cold at the moment and was sent home sick from work the other day. I'm glad you're feeling better and hopefully it stays that way._

_Dark672: glad you still like_

_KawaiiYamato: Girl, between you and Kara…I just love the reviews, you two make me so happy! As for Shirako…I'll continue to argue with you on who he belongs to! He's mine, all mine I say! Mine, mine, MINE! Ok, got that out of my system now. Now you'd better update! I'm waiting…still waiting…still waiting…you get the point, lol._


	12. The Showdown

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Summary: It was suppose to be a normal day, that is until Trinity and Kara come face to face. Then a day that was just like any other leads to a tragedy that probably could've been avoided, somehow.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 12: The Showdown

It was the dawning of the fifth day at the new manor of Tezla and there hadn't been anymore interesting surprises. Nolo had the complete frame finished for his new car; he hadn't come up with a new name for it yet though. He just couldn't see naming it after Synkro, this was a completely new machine and he couldn't name it after Spectyte either.

The others finally had their blue prints finished and had started work on their cars as well. Shirako had downloaded everything to his computer, just in case anything would happen and they'd later need the blue prints for something. It was better to be safe than sorry after all.

Karma had decided to call her new car Storm Force and Shirako was calling his new truck…Bassline of course, version three. Kurt hadn't decided on a name either, but he'd switched the style of his car so many times that Nolo wasn't surprised that he couldn't come up with a name yet. Vert wouldn't tell anyone what he was calling his car, he said it was going to be a surprise, he'd let everyone know at about the same time that the Atomic Winds would be leaving.

Nolo sighed as he put down the wrench he had been using, tightening one of the bolts that would later help hold the engine in place. He had the mounts installed in the engine area, that'd be one of the first things he'd put in the car, then build the rest of it up from there. He figured in maybe a month or so he'd have this new machine finished, then within two to three weeks later the paint scheme would be finished and he'd have the completed package.

It was still to long in his opinion, he wanted to race now. He'd been sorely tempted a couple of times to ask one of the Winds if he could borrow one of their cars. He just wanted to feel the thrumming of the engine beneath him, it had been to long.

He glanced up and watched as Vert walked into the garage bay. There was a brief exchange of hellos before his teammate walked over to the table that still housed the plans for his new machine. Nolo also returned to work on his own machine.

Moments later he heard the tell tale electro groan of the garage door as its mechanisms slowly began to draw the large door open. He could hear the gunning of an engine from outside, the car impatiently waiting for the door to fully open. He glanced over at Vert where he was working on the new frame for his car. Vert caught his gaze and raised his brows in question. "We're not expecting company, are we?" He asked. "All of the Winds cars are accounted for, aren't they?"

Nolo shrugged and put down the wrench he had only moments before picked back up. It clattered as it fell from the part of the frame he had placed it on and hit the floor with a resounding metal clink. "As far as I know none of them left, all their cars should still be out there."

"I had thought they were all in the common room when I'd come down. Should we go see who our visitor is then?" Vert asked as he stepped away from the parts for his car. He figured it had to be someone trustworthy; Tezla wouldn't just have given anyone one of the devices to open the lumbersome door after all.

Both young men stepped from the Teku's bay and were greeted by the five cars of the Atomic Winds, none of them started, each sitting cold in the exact same spot they had seen them in when they'd walked into their bay. Both turned their eyes to the now opened door and took in the car that was sitting there, its engine still revving.

"Kara," Vert said simply.

"Looks like she's back," Nolo said as he grinned over at his friend.

The brand new Sunfire shuddered as the engine was revved once more. It was pitch black in color with bright blue trimming running along the bottom and a scene of a growing thunderstorm painted on the hood, the graying clouds spilling down over the sides to just about the doors. Streaks of lightning erupted from the clouds to blaze a silvery trail down the sides of the car and sparkling drops of rain could just be discerned. The engine revved again and the tires squealed in protest as the car suddenly shot forward.

The E-brake was applied causing the car to drift into a tight turn, just avoiding hitting Bass Assault. The engine was shut off and the driver's door slowly opened. Kara threw her helmet off, it hitting the passenger seat and bouncing off to land on the floor boards of the Sunfire. Her brown hair highlighted with blond streaks cascaded down her back, falling in waved around her shoulders. Her hazel shaded eyes quietly surveyed her surroundings, taking in every detail of the new place that her uncle was calling home for the moment.

"Vert! Nolo!" she greeted once she noticed her two friends standing there watching her. "Uncle Peter didn't say that you guys would be here when I talked to him." Then her eyes landed on the five strange cars and she stared with interest for a few moments. "They're not Teku cars, nor Maniac cars for that matter. Whose are they?"

Vert smiled at her, "They're not for stealing either." He commented and couldn't help it as his grin broadened. Not long ago Kara had been in the habit of stealing cars; a couple of the Teku cars included and Vert couldn't resist the urge to bring that part of her life up. He was joking and she knew it, it was the closest they could get to flirting without actually coming out and flirting with one another. Neither one of them seemed quite ready to take that step yet, but it was apparent to all that knew them that there were unvocalized feelings between the two.

She glared at him for a couple of seconds before she finally responded. "How many times do I have to remind you that I don't do that anymore? I've gone legit now." Her hazel eyes danced in merriment, enjoying their game as much as Vert was.

Vert smiled as he and Nolo approached her. Vert stopped next to the two tone blue Lancer and placed a hand on the roof. "These cars belong to the Atomic Winds. This is my cousin Trinity's car, Bass Assault."

"Interesting name there." Kara commented, eyeing the car with interest. It was pretty but she'd seen better. And pretty didn't matter much in the game of racing, what counted was what was beneath the hood. "These Atomic Winds any good?"

"We're the best," a new voice said from near the entrance door into the garage.

All three young adults turned to look at the newcomer, having never heard the small door open. Trinity stood there with the rest of the Atomic Winds standing behind her.

"I've heard that before," Kara said nonchalantly. "I'll believe it when I see it." She had heard that particular boast before from countless teams and the only thing it had ever proven was that there was more wind in their lungs than there was horsepower in their cars. She had always left these 'We're the best' teams looking at nothing but her fading tail lights, they hadn't been able to support their bragging.

Trinity snorted then smiled, "Care to put your foot where your mouth is?"

"You wanna race?" Kara asked as one of her eyebrows raised in question. She wouldn't mind putting another one of these holier than though teams in their place.

Trinity walked up to where Vert and the others were standing, she stopped to glare at her cousin. "Remove your hand from my car before I'm forced to break it." He just smiled at her but didn't remove his hand. She sighed and blew a breath out between pursed lips. "You're impossible Wheeler, ya know that?"

"But ya still love me anyhow," he replied.

"The jury's still not in on that one yet," she remarked. He just continued to grin at her. She walked past her cousin, but not before delivering a soft blow to his arm. He still continued to grin which caused her to roll her eyes in exasperation.

She walked a couple of times around the Sunfire, her eyes taking in everything about it. It was nice, a year newer than what Wyldfyre had been. It probably packed a 24 DOHC engine in it with a couple of upgrades to boost the engine performance. All in all, it could probably give Bass Assault a run for her money, except for the fact that the Lancer had a few upgrades up her sleeve as well. Ok, quite a few upgrades up her sleeve, but who was really counting in the end?

She stopped to look at the other young woman, "Yeah, I wanna race. You just name the time, day and place and we'll be ready."

Kara smiled; she'd noticed the other eying her car up with interest. "How about today, right now?"

Trinity cocked an eyebrow. "Right now?" she repeated. "I have a feeling I'm gonna like you."

Kara stared at her for the span of a heartbeat, "I can't yet say the feeling's going to be mutual. I'll wait to see how you drive, then I'll make my own decision."

Trinity eyed the other girl with interest and decided at that moment that this girl was probably just as cocky as she herself was. This could prove to make things very interesting.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The race took place about five miles from the old mansion, in an area where the jagged lines and crevices of canyons marred the beauty of the otherwise pristine landscape. It was at the base of one of these canyons that the two cars were lined up nose to nose. The jagged crevice of the canyon would provide the route for the race, the steep walls of the cliff ensuring that no one would be able to cheat by attempting to discover a shortcut or hidden path. There would be no such secret courses, at least not in this race.

Leti stood before both of the cars, her arms poised above her head, waiting to give the signal to go. Vert was kneeling between the two cars, looking back and forth between the two drivers. Windows had been rolled down and Vert said in a voice that sounded a lot calmer than he was feeling, "Make this a clean race," he looked directly at his cousin as he said that. "There's a large boulder about two miles down the course, you're going to loop around it and come back, there's a box canyon there so you should have ample room to maneuver around the boulder. Whoever makes it back first is the winner."

He paused momentarily as he glanced back and forth between the two drivers, "May the best driver win."

Trinity just snorted as she revved her engine. Kara smiled at Vert as her foot sank on the gas pedal, the engine responding with a surge of rumbling power.

He turned to look at Leti and nodded. Her arms lowered and she shouted "Go!" but it was drowned out by the gunning of the engines as the two cars took off in a cloud of dust.

Kara's Sunfire easily took the lead, the Lancer a few car lengths behind. There was a loud echo of what sounded like gunfire then the Lancer lurched forward as flames flowed from the exhaust pipe.

"That can't be good," Kurt commented.

"She's supposed to do that," Courtney responded. "It's the way Trin has the nitrous system set up. In the next gear shift, if she needs the extra boost, she'll activate the nitrous. If not, Assault will backfire again as she cleans out more carbon." She looked over towards where Leti and Shirako were standing, then looked back at Kurt. "Bass Assault hasn't raced in a few days so there's bound to be some carbon build up."

Kurt just nodded his head; it was a weird set up if you asked him.

The two cars were becoming small dots in the distance as they traveled further down the canyon, their engines echoing off of the cliff walls.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Trinity growled beneath her breath, her knuckles turning white where they gripped the steering wheel. She was loosing, not by much but that didn't matter in the end. She wasn't in the lead, the one spot she liked most in the world. She hated coming in in any other position other than first.

She took her eyes off the course for just a few seconds as she hit the button that would pop the laptop out that controlled the flow of the engine, monitored the manifold and energy output. The small flat laptop popped out from beneath the center dash consul and immediately popped open. It was showing that she was just entering Stage 3 and she could use the nitrous in a couple more seconds.

Everything appeared to be running smoothly, every display indicated that things were operating as they should be. If that was so than how come that Sunfire had managed to gain the lead so early on? That car shouldn't have beaten her in the start!

She glanced at the readouts again; Assault was set up for drifting not sprints like Omega One. She took one of her hands off the steering wheel and punched a couple of keys on the keyboard. 'Implement Omega One set up?' popped up on the screen.

She hit the confirm button.

'Implementing…' popped up on the screen.

She felt Assault shudder as gear ratios were changed. The engine whined as the new changes took hold and Trinity automatically downshifted and listened to the new hum of the engine.

'Omega One set up confirmed.' Popped up on the small screen and she could feel the change in the car. Though her tires were still set up for drift, her suspension now wasn't and neither was her breaking system as well. Gear ratios had been changed to increase the speed at the beginning in the lower gears and optimize the use of the nitrous when it was shot through the engine.

She turned her eyes back to the track and the backend of the Sunfire. She could see the boulder slowly coming up in the distance and knew she didn't have long to make her move. She glanced back down at the laptop and counted off the seconds before she could send a wet shot of the nitrous through the system.

She quickly hit another button and another screen popped up. 'Nitrous use in five seconds, approaching gear change,' showed up on the screen.

She loved technology but at the same time hated it. Bass Assault relied heavily on computer systems and chips, so did the other three Atomic Winds cars. The only car that didn't was Leti's; Powerdyne was set up like a muscle car should be with no computers needed.

The engine rumbled louder and she mentally readied herself to hit the clutch and shift the car into the next gear while at the same time her finger poised over the nitrous button. She watched in growing anger as the Sunfire reached the boulder first and careened around the rock.

It was almost like the other driver was one step ahead of her, almost as if the girl could read her mind and knew what she was going to do before she even did it. Not that that was likely, but that's what it seemed like to her at the moment.

Trinity wouldn't have time to use the NOS button before she reached the boulder, she'd have to downshift as she went around the turn. Hopefully she'd be able to catch the other driver on the return trip, if not then she most certainly would loose this race. That made her angrier than anything else at the moment. It didn't bother her at the moment that she was running in second, what bothered her the most now was loosing. She _didn't_ like to loose!

Hitting the clutch she downshifted the Lancer and drifted it around the boulder and then punched the gas. She glanced back down at the computer, 'Nitrous use in two seconds,' was flashing on the screen.

"The hell with that," she mumbled beneath her breath. She needed to make up some time and she needed to make it up now!

Her finger was just lowering on the NOS button when Bass Assault lurched to the side, like someone had hit her with some force from behind. Her car skidded first to the left, then swung to the right as she compensated for the skid. She was nailed from the back again and the next thing she knew she was facing backwards and was looking at the same car she had forced off the road on the trip here.

The silver and purple car was back and apparently the driver wanted revenge.

"Oh shit," she said softly, "this is gonna hurt!"

The other car accelerated, front end clashing against front end and sending Bass Assault spinning yet again. _Breaks or gas?_ Trinity silently asked herself. Which would benefit her the most and which would send her car spinning even more? And once she got her car righted, what would this idiot on wheels decide to do next?

The idiot on wheels decided to accelerate and rushed past her in a cloud of dust.

_So much for worrying about him._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Kara glanced in her review mirror, wanting to know exactly where the Lancer was at. What she saw made her mouth open wide in surprise and a soft curse cross her lips. The blue Lancer was spinning out of control and a silver and purple car was fast approaching. Within moments it would be knocking on her back bumper.

That couldn't possibly be a good thing, not in the least.

"What are the Silencerz doing here?" she then wondered softly. "Well, they took her out so I guess I'm next. Hope they don't mind me playing hard to get."

She grabbed her e-break and pulled hard, forcing her Sunfire into a tight spin. "Feel like playing chicken?" She softly laughed, "I certainly do."

She gunned the engine and gave a satisfied smile as her small car leapt to attention and shot forward. Now it would only be a matter of seeing who would dodge first and she had no plans of it being her.

Her Sunfire's tires ate up the distance and within a span of a few heartbeats she could see the front end of the other car perfectly. There was about four or so car lengths separating her from the other car and the other driver gave no indication of even thinking about moving from the oncoming head on collision. Kara sucked in her breath and felt her heartbeat quicken.

Never had she been this close to the other car when she'd implemented a game of chicken, the other driver had always backed down. This guy wasn't even flinching; his car wasn't wavering in the slightest. Apparently he had no intention of backing down either.

"You're crazy," she said to the other driver even though they couldn't hear her, "You're even crazier than I am!" She had no intention of backing down though, she'd hit this idiot head on if that's what it took. No one butted in on one of her races, especially when they hadn't been invited. This guy was gonna learn a valuable lesson the hard way!

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

There was the sound of clashing metal and in the distance they could see a large cloud of dust. Then suddenly everything was quiet. There were no sounds of gunning engines, or even squealing breaks. It had suddenly become deathly quiet.

There was no sound at all in the stillness, not even the noises of animals or nearby insects. Nothing at all.

Vert looked over at Leti and Courtney, "That didn't sound good."

"It sounded like someone wrecked," Karma spoke up and her eyes immediately went to Courtney and the rest of the Winds. "I swear, if that idiot you call a leader did anything to Kara, there's gonna be all types of hell to pay."

Courtney snorted and allowed her eyes to narrow as she glared at the other female, "Trinity doesn't have a problem with your friend…not yet at least. But if _she_ did something to Trinity, _she'll_ have a problem with the Winds." With Trinity gone for the moment Courtney took over the role of leader of the Winds and she certainly wasn't going to allow someone else to bash one of her teammates.

With that said, the four remaining Atomic Winds were sprinting for their cars, all thoughts of the race forgotten. Something had happened and they didn't have a clue what. Plus they didn't know if Trinity was involved and if so, how. The only thing that mattered at the moment was finding out if something had happened to their teammate.

"What's that?" Nolo asked as he noticed a dust trail approaching.

Courtney had just reached her car and she turned around to see what it was that the leader of the Teku had noticed. She saw the dust trail as well and immediately presumed it was either Trinity or Vert's friend. Maybe nothing had happened after all…but if that were the case, than what was the noise they had just heard moments before?

The dust trail grew closer and as it did so they could finally make out the car that was stirring up all the dust. It was neither of the two cars they were watching for. Infact, it was the car that Trinity had forced off the road on their trip here, and its front end had sustained some damage.

"A Silencerz," she heard some of the members from the Teku and Maniacs exclaim.

She stared at the fast approaching silver and purple car for a few more seconds than snapped, "Winds, saddle up! It's time to move!" There were questions that needed to be answered but they could wait until it was discovered what had happened to Trinity and the other girl.

The rest of the Winds didn't need much more motivation as they all quickly got in their cars and within seconds were sprinting down the course. Dust flew in all directions as the four cars full throttled down the make-shift road, passing by the silver and purple car without a moment's hesitation.

The first car they came upon was the black Sunfire, its front end smashed and steam billowing from the ruptured radiator. Courtney motioned for Jon and Mikey to stop and see how the driver was as she and Leti continued on.

A little further down the road they came across the twisted heap that had once been Bass Assault. Courtney slammed on her breaks, kicking up dust and debris as her car slid in the dirt, just narrowly stopping a few feet from what was left of Bass Assault.

"Trinity!" Courtney screamed as she rushed from her own car.

Blue smoke was slowly spiraling up from beneath the hood and small tongues of flame could be seen dancing from beneath the shattered undercarriage. The smell of gasoline wafted to her nose.

Suddenly the sound of an explosion rocked the silence.

_Well, there we have the ending of Chapter 12 and quite an ending it is! Good? Bad? Makes you want to know what's going to happen next? Let me know…better yet, why don't you guess and tell me what you think is going to happen in the next chapter!_

_Now, to thank those that have made anon. reviews…_

_Chase Wheeler: Thank you so much for reviewing each and every chapter! You have no idea how happy that made me! As for there being a Leti/Vert romance in this fic…sorry but I hate to burst your bubble but Vert is already taken so there won't be anything happening between him and Leti. I do have some stuff planned for her and another character though. Hopefully you'll continue reading even though nothing's going to happen between Vert and Leti…I think Kara would probably kill me if I put Vert with anyone else._

_Dark672: Yes, I know. As always, it's good. Thank you for reading as always. Glad to know you still are._

_KawaiiYamato: It doesn't matter how much you say it I'll still argue the point with you. He's mine, not yours! All mine…I've got some sort of claimship papers somewhere, just let me go find them. He's still mine, all mine I say! And although you may have written all those crazy fics…um…yeah…he's still mine! Jealous of? Little ol' me? I'm glad you think it's good though I'm not to sure about the perfect part. I always think my work could be a little better, but when I read it over I can never find the spot that needs to be improved, though I know it's there. I just can never find it! Trin and Karma will definitely have their day…but that's still a few chapters to come. There's some things that need to be revealed first, then all hell's gonna break loose and I pity anyone unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle of it._


	13. The Lies Start To Crumble

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: As before, still in Chapter 1.

Author's Note: I forgot to state this in the previous chapter and thought I had better explain a few things that were questioned. Kara Tezla is not my character, she belongs to KTezla and I'm borrowing her with permission. Yes, that means that Kara is an original character and she has her own background which I will go into detail about in a later chapter, probably three or four chapters in the future. There is a lot that is going to be revealed within the upcoming chapters and you get a big hint at the end of this chapter about a secret that's going to unravel. Hope you enjoy the read and remember, if you have questions don't be afraid to leave them in a review!

Summary: Bass Assault is destroyed, so is Kara's Sunfire. Courtney witnesses something that completely changes her perspective on her cousin and everyone wonders if Kara is going to make it or not.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 13: The Lies Start To Crumble

Jon stared at the crumbled front end of the Sunfire and a forced breath was blown between pursed lips as he turned his dark green eyes to regard his teammate. "Looks like they hit head on, but the other car looks like it faired just a slight bit better than this one," he commented.

The hood of the Sunfire was crushed, the front windshield hidden behind the crumpled remains of the once black hood. Now the black paint was shattered and peeling, the base coat beneath appearing in areas where the paint had been completely ripped off. The growing scene of a storm on the hood and sides of the car looked like a nightmare from some horror book, the ragged remains of the gray clouds depicting some awful scene from a toddler's nightmare.

Puffs of blue smoke or vapor randomly erupted from different areas beneath the crinkled hood and there were occasional arcs of electricity zapping from one component to another. Radiator fluid leaked into a bright green pool beneath the car and there was the faint odor of oil blending into the stillness of the air.

"We need to get her out of there," Mikey said as he slowly approached the driver's side of the car. He noticed right off the bat that the girl's head was leaning against the steering wheel and she wasn't moving in the slightest, which proved that things weren't good.

"Will the door open?" Jon asked as he came to stand next to Mikey. Not only had the front end of the car been destroyed, but it had messed up the door mechanisms on the car as well and you could tell just by a glance that there was some damage where the door fit to the front quarter panel of the car. If the hinges had been bent or worse, broke, the door might not open and that would put a little crease in their plan of getting her out of the car.

"Only one way to find out," Mikey replied as he grabbed hold of the door handle and yanked. It didn't budge. He pulled harder and grunted from the exertion. It still didn't move so much as an inch.

The door was refusing to open, or even to make an attempt to open. It was jammed tight.

"So now what?" Jon asked as he glanced from Mikey to the unconscious girl still in the car.

"Get the crowbar from Crash-er, Thunderhead," Mikey ordered. "We're going to open this tin can like a can of sardines if we have to."

Jon just nodded his head and quickly ran for the piece of shit he called a car. After quickly popping the trunk and grabbing the crowbar from its storage place, he headed back to where Mikey was still standing. The Latino male was staring with feigned concentration at the jammed door, one of the fingers of his hand randomly beating a strange rhythm on his front teeth.

"I really hate to have to bust that window in, but it's the only way we're going to be able to get her out." Mikey finally said as he turned to face his teammate. "Glass is going to rain all over the place on the inside of that car, including on her." He gestured for Jon to hand him the crowbar.

"It's a possibility we're going to have to take, especially if we want to get her out." Jon said as he handed the crowbar to his teammate.

"She's in no immediate danger." Mikey responded. "Maybe if we try a little harder with the door, maybe it'll finally budge and open."

Jon bent down to have a good look at the damage inflicted on the sides. He raised a hand to run it over the joint between door and front quarter panel. The quarter panel had been forced back by a couple of millimeters, just enough to effect the opening and closing of the door.

"I don't think it will. The quarter panel's been pushed back and is impeding the door's opening. We'd have to use the crowbar to attempt to open the door and even then there's no guarantee that we'd be able to get it opened." Jon said as he stood up and dusted his hands off on his pants.

"So we resort to breaking the glass," Mikey responded. He didn't give Jon the chance to respond as he lifted the crowbar and heaved it toward the driver's side window. There was the sound of breaking glass as the crowbar met with the window. "Well, that's that."

Jon just made an agreeing sound low in this throat.

"Now let's get her out of there, shall we?" Mikey said as he threw the long piece of sculpted metal onto the dirt of the ground. It landed with a dull thud and threw particles of dust into the air. Then it was paid no more mind.

"And exactly how are we supposed to do that?" Jon asked as he stared in befuddlement at the young woman sitting in a very awkward position within the car. Her being slumped over and unconscious wasn't helping their rescue effort very much.

Mikey blew a breath out between his lips and turned to regard Jon with one of those looks that asked 'And-were-you-born-yesterday-or-something-because-I'm-seriously-beginning-to-think-you-were?' In a calm voice that belied his growing agitation with his teammate he answered, "We unbuckle her seatbelt and pull her out by her arms. Does that sound to hard for you poor brain to comprehend?" Then in a softer voice as if he didn't want his teammate to hear what it was he was saying he added, "I swear sometimes you've knocked your head against your steering wheel entirely too many times in all those damn accidents you've had."

Jon glared at Mikey for the span of a heartbeat, "I heard you I hope you know."

Mikey gave a smile that was something similar to the look a lion would give its prey just before it pounced on it, "That was the whole idea in the first place."

Jon wore a look of bewilderment but chose not to respond.

"Shall we get to work now or would you like to continue this little banter of ours while she's lying injured in her car?" Mikey finally said once he came to the conclusion that Jon wasn't going to take his bait.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'm going to lean her back in her seat, I want you to reach in and undo her seatbelt. Think you can handle that?" Mikey quipped.

Jon gave him a look, "Yeah, I think I can handle that."

"Good," Mikey responded as he reached in and gently pushed Kara back against her seat. He was careful not to jar her neck to much since he didn't know if there was any damage to her neck or spinal cord. He didn't think it would be wise to inflict anymore possible damage than what had already been caused.

"Now grab the seatbelt, would you?"

"Getting it," Jon responded as he reached in and grabbed the release for the lap belt. There was the sound of a click and the seatbelt became slack in his grasp. Carefully he eased it back away from her then undid the harnesses that also kept her secure in her seat, but somehow they had given way. One of the securing harnesses was frayed, probably a defect in the material and the result was it coming loose from the impact and allowing the young woman to pitch forward towards the steering wheel from the impact of the crash.

"This looks familiar," Jon said softly as he surveyed the frayed piece of harness.

"Whatdya mean?" Mikey asked as he continued to hold the girl in an upright position, not allowing her to slump forward again.

"Serena's harness had a similar defect if you recall. It's what allowed her to go flying forward and snap her neck the way she did. This girl was lucky she didn't befall the same fate. I wonder if there's something wrong with the material that's allowing it to fray this way."

"Can we get her out of the car and investigate this later?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, sure," Jon responded.

"Good, now grab hold of her other arm and we'll pull her out of this pile of junk. For some reason I'm beginning to think that Sunfires aren't good for tuners. This is the second one I've seen that's ended up as a pile of junk."

Both young men pulled the unconscious form from the car, taking care not to jerk her body around to much, fearing that by doing so they might inflict even more damage. Carefully they laid her on the ground near the car, it was then that Mikey decided to take an inventory of her injuries.

He carefully removed her racing helmet and sucked in a breath. There was a large gash across her forehead and a tickle of blood was still seeping from it. He quickly checked her arms and legs and decided that none of them were broken, at least not that he could tell. She didn't give any reactions of pain, but then again it would be hard to tell with her being unconscious and all.

He wasn't about to check her ribs, he felt that that would be an invasion of privacy and a little to intimate for his tastes. "Aside from the gash on her head, I can't find anything else wrong with her. Let's put her in Omega One and head up to where Court and Let should be at. See how things are going with Bass Assault."

"Sounds good to me," Jon said.

Carefully they carried Kara to the red Civic and with extreme caution they sat her inside the car. Mikey fastened the belts to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere then turned around to say something to Jon.

It was at that moment that he caught a brief flash of something from beneath the crinkled front end of the Sunfire. Seconds later the car went up in a bright flash of light. The explosion literally knocked his feet out from underneath him and with a curse he felt his body connect hard with the ground. He heard Jon go down hard as well and heard the exclamation from his teammate as his body hit the hard ground. If this wasn't pleasant!

"Shit!" He cursed once he had gotten his feet beneath him once more. "I wasn't expecting that."

"And you think I was?" Jon quipped from beside him as he brushed yet even more dust from his pants and shirt. "Well, if that car wasn't totaled before, it is now."

Mikey turned to stare at the smoldering carcass of the Sunfire, "That's for certain. Hope she has a backup car." He walked around the front end of his own car and surveyed the damage. There were a few dings and dents from flying shrapnel, but other than that there didn't seem to be much in the way of inflicted damage from the explosion.

Thunderhead hadn't been so lucky since it had been parked closer to the Sunfire. Its front windshield was busted and there was a nice flaming hunk of something sitting in the passenger seat. Jon cursed as he made a mad dash for his car, hoping he could put the fire out before it spread throughout his beloved pile of gas eating crap.

Popping the trunk he grabbed a fire extinguisher and promptly began spraying it through the shattered windshield. Within moments he had the fire out and was surveying the rest of the damage done to his car. Other than the busted windshield and fire damage to the passenger seat, things seemed ok. There were a few scratches and dings along the body and a nice sized dent in the hood, but otherwise the damage appeared minimal.

Within moments they heard the gunning of engines and turned to watch as Street Thunder and Powerdyne appeared, stirring up dust and dirt in their wake. The two cars came to a shuddering halt and Leti and Courtney jumped from their cars before they were even completely stopped. Trinity took a little more time getting out of Street Thunder and didn't appear to be in any hurry; she was moving about as slow as an old granny with a walker.

"What happened?" Courtney asked as she came to a halt next to Omega One. She turned her gaze to take in the burning carcass of the other car and her eyes widened in surprise. "How?" Was all she managed to ask.

Trinity walked up more slowly, a limp evident as she favored her right leg. She turned her blue eyes to the blazing car and raised her eyebrows in interest. "And I thought Assault was in bad shape, that car's even worse off." Then she looked at Mikey and Omega One and noticed the other driver sitting in the passenger seat. "At least you managed to get her out before it went up in flames. Is she ok?"

"I'm guessing she took a nice blow to the head and she's got a head wound, but otherwise I couldn't find a thing wrong with her. She's out for the count right now though. Plus I don't think she's going to be waking up anytime soon." Mikey answered. "How 'bout you? Are you ok? And what about Assault?"

Trinity shook her head in answer. "I'll make it. I hit my knee off of the steering column but it's not anything that won't heal with time. I've got a major case of whip lash and my head's throbbing, but I can deal with those."

"And what about Bass Assault?" Mikey asked again noticing that she hadn't answered his question about the blue Lancer, which in and of itself proved that things were bad for the car.

Trinity looked back the way they had come then turned back around to look at Mikey. "She's out for the count permanently I would have to say. If we can get her shipped to Moon's, he can take a good look at her and tell me whether or not she should be scrapped, but until then I won't know for sure. The damage is extensive though." She shook her head and sighed. "I was forced into the cliff side a couple of times."

Mikey shook his head; this accident reminded him to much of another accident. An accident that had claimed the life of one of his friends and had totaled another car; though Trinity didn't like hearing that, as far as she was concerned both of those cars were going to be rebuilt. Somehow or another at least.

Trinity looked at the weary and dust smeared faces of her team. "Let's get back, I'm sure the others are worried and would like to know what happened. Let's not keep them waiting any longer than we have too, ok?"

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

To say that the others were worried would have been an understatement. They were beyond worried; they were more within the proximity of being terrified. Vert was pacing back and forth, watching the distance for any trace of a dust trail that would give an indication that the cars were returning. Not only was he worried for his cousin, but he was worried for Kara as well. Something had happened, they'd heard the crash and minutes later the loud explosion.

Someone's car had gone up in flames and it was tearing him to pieces not knowing whose. He didn't know if he could deal with it if it was Trinity's car, he'd already lost one cousin, he didn't think he'd be able keep his sanity intact if he lost another. Then what of Kara? What if she'd been hurt?

He shook his head and continued his pacing, not liking as time continued to pass. Not liking not knowing!

"Everything's going to be all right," Kurt said as he laid a comforting hand on Vert's shoulder.

Vert stopped his pacing and turned watery eyes to his friend, "You don't know that!" He shouted, allowing his emotions to get the better of him. "Someone's car went up in flames, we heard the explosion. What if they were still in the car? What if…" he couldn't finish the sentence, to do so might bring his thoughts to life.

"They both are fine, you have to think positively. The Winds blew out of here like there was no tomorrow, you have to believe they got to which ever car it was before it exploded." Kurt said, looking directly into Vert's eyes. He could see that his friend was fighting his emotions, was holding back the tears that so badly wanted to fall.

"They should have been back by now," Vert said, the feeling of hopelessness lodging in his chest and refusing to go away. He glanced around at the others; they were discreetly looking in every direction but at him, attempting to allow him his privacy as his emotions rolled out of control. He looked back at Kurt and poked a finger into the other man's chest, "You don't understand Kurt! I don't think I could handle having to call Trin's parents up and telling them that they'd lost another daughter. She's all they have left!"

Kurt remained quiet, allowing Vert's emotions to run their course. He could partly understand what he was feeling. Though he had never physically lost a loved one, he'd come close to it when his and Markie's relationship had failed.

"And what about Dr. Tezla, how are we going to break the news to him if it was Kara's car and they couldn't get her out in time?" Vert's eyes started to take on a wild look. "They should have been back by now, it's been to long!"

"Vert," it was Nolo speaking this time. When he had approached the two, Kurt didn't know, he hadn't seen their leader walk up to them.

"Vert, look, there's a dust trail in the distance. I think they're on their way back." Nolo said as he pointed into the distance. Vert turned to look in the direction he was pointing and then he too noticed the trail of dust.

The four remaining Atomic Winds cars closed the distance within minutes, their engines rumbling as they came closer and closer. It was possible to tell that there were two people in Street Thunder as well as Omega One. Vert allowed a sigh of relief to pass briefly across his lips.

Street Thunder came to a shuddering halt, the tires continuing in their forward motion as the brakes attempted to stop the car on a dime. It just wasn't happening with the loose dirt and gravel of the desert. Powerdyne did the same thing, the car continuing to careen forward as the brakes squealed in protest. Omega One and Thunderhead weren't traveling quite as fast and they managed their stops a little better than the first two.

Vert started running for Street Thunder once the car came to a complete stop but changed his course for Omega One once he noticed that Trinity was getting out of Courtney's car and appeared unharmed. Kara on the other hand wasn't moving and Mikey was moving to the passenger side of his ride to take a better look at his passenger.

"Is she all right?" Vert asked as he stopped next to his cousins' teammate.

Mikey turned around to look at him and shook his head sadly, "We managed to get her out of her car before it went up, but I honestly think she needs to go to a hospital. She took a nasty blow to the head," he said as he indicated the gash on her forehead. "That was even with her helmet on so there's no telling how bad the damage would've been without one on. She's lucky, would be my guess, to be alive."

"We'll take her back to the manor; Dr. Tezla and Lani have an infirmary set up there. Its state of the art and they'll be able to provide everything there for her that a hospital would." Vert said, not wanting to take his friend to a hospital. It would take to long to get her there and time might be of the essence.

"Your call," Trinity said from behind him.

He turned around to look at her, his eyes quickly surveying her body to see if he could detect any noticeable damage. She appeared unharmed save for a slight limp. She seemed to be favoring her right leg as well.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The ride back to the new manor was uneventful, at least as uneventful as it could be with everyone packed into the four cars. Vert had decided to ride with Mikey in Omega One so he could keep an eye on Kara, he'd been torn between riding with her or riding with Trinity but his cousin had assured him that she was fine. Kurt had decided that he'd ride with them as well. Kurt was sitting shot gun with Vert in the back of the Civic keeping a close eye on the unconscious Kara.

Street Thunder was a two seater only, but somehow they had managed to pack three people into the Supra. Shirako had decided to go with Vert's cousins and for once Vert's mind wasn't on the fact that his friend was stuck in a car with Trinity, it had completely slipped his mind with everything else that was going on. Now, you may ask how they managed to put three people in a car that was equipped to handle only two? That's easily explained, Trinity got stuck sitting on Shirako's lap, much to her dismay.

Now Leti and Powerdyne seemed to run into the same problem as Street Thunder for the Mustang was a four seater and had five people in it. Tork, Nolo, Taro and Karma had opted to ride with Shirako's cousin, which seemed a bit strange; you'd think Shirako would've rode with his own cousin. Nah, he wanted to check the system out in the Supra, he already knew what was packed in the Mustang afterall…he had helped install the system in the first place. Tork was riding up front with Leti with Nolo, Karma and Taro in the back, Karma basically sitting on Taro's lap. Not that she minded much.

Jon and Thunderhead got stuck with Monkey, Pork Chop and Wylde. Wylde of course said he was not riding in the back with Monkey so Pork Chop got stuck with that job. At least no one had to worry about sitting on anyone else's lap in the Neon!

Mikey kept glancing in his review mirror to see how Kara was doing. She was lying across the back seat with her head resting on Vert's lap as his fingers unconsciously played around with her hair. His mind seemed to be in some far off place, his eyes staring into the distance without really seeing anything.

"She still out cold?" Mikey decided to ask even though he already knew the answer. He figured Trin's cousin could use something to take his mind off of what had occurred. There seemed to be some connection between Vert and this Kara girl even though neither one of them seemed to want to acknowledge it, at least that was the vibe he had gotten so far.

Vert's eyes focused on Mikey by way of the review mirror. "Yeah," he answered simply.

Kurt turned around in the front passenger seat and looked at Vert, "She's going to be ok, she's tough, it'll take a lot more than this to take her out. She'll be up and at 'em in a few days and we won't even be able to tell that anything happened. Though she's going to be pissed about her car."

Vert nodded his head but didn't respond, he really didn't feel like talking at the moment.

Meanwhile, in Street Thunder, Trinity was deciding whether or not she wanted to kill the guy whose lap she was stuck sitting on. "You try touching that damn button one more time and I'm gonna break your fingers for you!" She shouted as she noticed for the umpteenth time that his hand was slowly wondering toward the controls for the stereo. She couldn't count how many times he had attempted to change the CD track that was playing.

She happened to like this song even if it didn't fit in very well with the normal music that could be heard blaring from any of the speakers from any one of the Atomic Winds cars. Country was not her favorite type of music to listen to, in fact it was her least favorite but there was just something about this song that spoke to her heart and soul. There was something about it that brought tears to her eyes…though she knew what it was.

It was the lyrics to the song, they spoke about a lost loved one and what the possibilities could have been had they lived. It was by Kenny Chesney and was titled '_Who You'd Be Today'_ and she loved it more than she thought was possible and it always brought her near to tears when she heard it.

"This is Country," she heard the boy, she believe his name was Shirako, exclaim as if the fact that Country music was blaring from Street Thunder's speakers was a sin of some sort.

If it was any other Country song she probably would have been implored to agree with him on that account, but it wasn't and she wasn't.

She turned around to glare at him, "Yeah, and your point would be what?"

"It's Country!" He responded as if that short answer would explain everything.

"I happen to like this song," she shot back. "And if you try changing the song again you'll be riding outside on the hood, capeesh?"

He just simply stared at her but didn't respond, she took this as his reluctant agreement not to attempt to touch the controls for the stereo again. Probably good for him because she hadn't been joking with her threat of putting him on the hood of the Supra.

It wouldn't be the first time it had been done and it damn well wouldn't be the last!

She wiggled around a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position but found it near difficult with the limited leg room and the fact that her head was still pounding but she refused to turn the volume of the music down. She sighed and leaned her head back, it came to rest on his shoulder and she allowed her eyes to close briefly.

"Sorry," she finally said as she felt his eyes on her. "I'm just so tired all of a sudden and my head's still pounding. It feels like I got ran over by a couple thousand horses and then they decided to turn around and repeat it all over again." Her body was crying out for sleep and she was refusing to give in to its demand.

"Just don't go to sleep," Courtney warned from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I know," Trinity said as she waved a hand in the air, her eyes still closed.

She felt Shirako move slightly, moving her just a bit so she was situated more comfortably against his body. She sighed and allowed her body to relax a bit more; her head lulling completely back against his shoulder. "I'm just so tired," she said softly.

"Just don't go to sleep," she heard his voice say softly in her ear. His warm breath against her ear sent shivers through her body, which he must've felt for he suddenly wrapped one of his arms around her. She heard the click of the heater and then felt his other arm wrap itself around her as well.

"You cold?" Courtney asked.

"No," she responded.

"She was shivering," Shirako answered.

"Ok, so maybe a little," she lied, not wanting to voice the fact that it had been his breath against her ear that had caused her to shiver.

Her mind was slowly beginning to wonder, images passing before her mind's eye and her heart shuddered in her chest. She was watching Wyldfyre and Cobalt Blue, but it wasn't really them. It was but it wasn't, the paint schemes weren't right. Both cars were supposed to be blue, but these two cars were silver and purple. The light of a rising moon turning the silver molten and causing the purple accents and windows to gleam in the moonlight.

Suddenly there was a third car in the mix, Street Thunder, but again the paint scheme was wrong. As with Wyldfyre and Cobalt Blue, this Street Thunder was silver and purple. The three cars were speeding down the highway, switching from one lane to another, passing other cars like they were sitting still.

She watched as Wyldfyre swerved over in front of Cobalt Blue and Street Thunder suddenly swerved in the opposite direction, coming up along the other side of the Cobalt. The Cobalt dropped back and the Supra swerved over into the other lane so it was running right next to the Sunfire. The Sunfire also dropped back and swerved over behind the Supra so that now it was running beside the Cobalt. They continued this for a while, switching spots, accelerating, dropping back only to swerve to one side or the other.

Then the Sunfire misjudged something and careened into the Cobalt, they both went spinning out of control. The Cobalt struck the median strip and the Sunfire went head-on into a light pole.

Trinity's body tightened as a scream erupted from her throat, her eyes flying open as the images of the Cobalt and Sunfire still flashed before her open eyes. She felt arms tighten their hold around her waist and she suddenly remembered that she was riding in her cousin's car. What her mind had conjured up had never happened, would never happen.

"You all right?" she heard a male voice ask from beside her. She turned to look and found herself staring into Leti's cousin's face. There was concern in his eyes as he gazed at her from behind his lightly tinted shades.

Her eyes darted over to Courtney who was staring at her with worry in her own emerald green eyes. Courtney's eyes momentarily slipped back to the road before her, checking that she was still on course then looked back at Trinity again. "Are you ok Trin?" she questioned.

Trinity nodded her head, her voice momentarily stuck in her throat. She coughed slightly, trying to work moisture back into her mouth, "Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, her mind was still shell-shocked by what she had seen. "It was just a nightmare, that's all."

"The accident?" Courtney questioned.

Trinity nodded her head. "Cobalt Blue," she said simply and watched as Courtney nodded her head in understanding. She laid her head back against Shirako's shoulder again and allowed her eyes to close. The images flashed before her eyes again and her body shuddered.

She felt Shirako tighten his hold on her, "Don't be falling asleep again, I shouldn't have let you in the first place."

"I won't," she responded, "Believe me, I won't."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Lani stared at the readouts before her. Kara was still unconscious, but at least her head wound had quit bleeding. It was now wrapped in gauze, the starkness of the white standing out against her tanned skin. Kara had a concussion and a severe one from what the readouts were telling her. The girl was lucky that the force of the blow hadn't rattled her brain around inside of her skull, she was even luckier to be alive.

"She gonna be all right?" she heard someone ask from the doorway and turned around to look at the speaker.

Nolo stood there, his eyes staring worriedly at Tezla's niece. Lani offered him a sad smile and gently shrugged her shoulders, "She has a severe concussion." She answered. "She's lucky to be a live, right now only time will tell really."

Nolo seemed to digest this for a moment then finally nodded his head. He slowly walked into the room and stopped next to Lani. He looked at her then turned his dark eyes to look down at his unconscious friend. "Was it worse than we thought?"

Lani looked sadly up at him, "It's bad Nolo but I don't think it's going to kill her. From what Mikey and Jon explained and the condition of her car, it's my guess that it was a head-on collision. Granted, her car had an aftermarket roll cage installed in it, but you can only fortify a factory car so much, her car didn't hold the strength that your cars did."

Nolo nodded his head; he understood what Lani was saying without her even saying it. Kara was extremely lucky to even be alive.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"I'm taking Street Thunder," Trinity said.

Courtney glared at her, "Excuse me?"

"I said I'm taking Street Thunder," Trinity repeated. "I can't very likely take Bass Assault now can I?" She questioned and waved her hand in the direction of the junked car. The Lancer and Sunfire had been brought in shortly after the group of teens had arrived back at the manor and the two injured drivers were seen to.

Courtney planted her hands on her hips and glared at her cousin, "You're not taking my car anywhere, especially after that accident!"

Trinity glared at her cousin for a split second than turned around and walked slowly over to the carcass of the blue Lancer. "I need to get a new car, it's not like I'm gonna be able to drive this around," she threw over her shoulder.

"You're not taking my car anywhere; besides, I don't care what Lani says, I don't think you should be driving. You're still limping and you damn well can't tell me that your knee isn't bothering you, I can tell by the look on your face it still is. And what about your head? You hit your head too, ya know!"

"What's a little pain?" Trinity shot back, "Besides, I've been hurt a lot worse than this before. Remember?"

Courtney threw her hands up in the air and felt the urge to scream. "I'm not giving you the keys to my car, you can just forget it!"

Trinity glared at her for a split second, and then turned her attention back to Bass Assault. She reached into the cockpit and pulled the release lever for the hood. There was a light sound of a metallic click and the hood popped marginally. Walking around to the front of the car, still limping slightly, she pulled on the hood. It didn't want to give at first.

Slipping her fingers beneath the slight raise in the hood, she started to poke and prod until she found the release mechanism she was looking for. Pushing on the peg that was still lodged in the release mechanism she yanked on the hood and gave a satisfied smile as it gave way.

Courtney walked up beside her, a bewildered expression crossing her face. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing," Trinity answered.

"The hell you aren't!"

Trinity placed the support rod in the small groove on the underside of the hood then turned to look at Courtney. "I'm not doing anything so don't worry about it." She responded then turned her attention back to the damaged engine of the Lancer. She reached somewhere near the back of the engine, just in front of the firewall, and pulled out a small, flat silver disc.

Courtney's eyes opened wide as she caught sight of the disc. There was a small red light blinking on the underside of it and on the top was what looked like a picture of a purple wheel. "Trinity," she gasped.

Trinity looked back up at her and her blue eyes were flashing in warning. "I told you not to worry about it, so don't."

Courtney took a step back, "But that's a-" She started only to have Trinity cut her off.

"I know what it is," she snarled as she placed the disc in one of her front pockets. "I also told you not to worry about it, didn't I? Now, are you going to give me the keys to Street Thunder or not?"

Courtney didn't utter a word, but she grabbed the keys from her pocket and handed them to her cousin. Trinity grabbed the keys from her cousin, "Thanks. Now if anyone should ask, just tell them I went into town to look for a new car, ok? I'll be back as soon as I'm done, got it?"

Courtney just nodded her head. Apparently she didn't know her cousin at all anymore.

_Ah, the plot thickens, no? Questions? Comments? Then by all means leave them in a review, I can not say this enough, I live on reviews as well as thriving on them! 'The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies' is quickly approaching its end and I think it's going to be an ending that will be full of surprises._

_All signed reviews have been replied to, now just to say a few words to those who left anon. reviews…_

_Chase Wheeler: As always, it's a pleasure to have you review and I'm so very glad that you still think that the chapters are awesome. Glad you're not upset that Leti and Vert won't be getting together…she's going to be leaning toward another character later on. I hope you paid close attention to who was riding in Powerdyne with her. Glad you like Kara, unfortunately I can't take credit for her or her past, she was created by KTezla and I'm just borrowing with permission, which I have got to say that I greatly appreciate! I can only hope that I continue to put out awesome chapters, I try my best and I have got to say that this is so far my favorite chapter, at least for the moment. Thanks so very much for the review, it definitely made my day!_

_Moriko: Hmmm, that's a very good question, I'm not sure why it seems to be a continuing debate with me and a few others (names won't be mentioned but glares at KawaiiYamato). We just seem to have an obsession with Shirako and neither one of us wants to really give up our supposed rights, lol. You can have Wylde, I'll give him to you with open arms…robotic arm and all. Though he's fun to play around with, his personality is something of interest. I'm glad you think it's a great fic and believe me when I say I definitely plan on continuing it. Though it is quickly approaching its end but I have a sequel in the works once this is completed. Thank you so very, very much for your review!_

_Kara: I do agree, it was a pretty damn good chapter and I was quite happy with its turn out. As for your comment about Mikey and his 'accident' it was a priceless scene that just begged to be written. I just loved the thought of a 'big, macho man' having the living shit scared out of him and the after effects of that fear…it was just to good not to put in the chapter. I'm glad I got Kara down, I had to reread your posts a couple of times off the Ultimate Online Forum just to make certain I was getting things within a somewhat believable perspective. I'm glad I did a pretty good job of it, I was really very worried as I was writing the chapter. As for her car, I just took some of what you'd already told and added some of my own details. The lightning down the sides and the raindrops were from a car I use to own but it ended up in the junkyard…something we really don't need to discuss, lol. But that's how I ended up with the nickname of Wings of Speed as well as Crash and Burn…Raving lunatic? Nah, not at all, at least not when you're reviewing my fic, I'll take all the praise I can get! Don't worry about not always being able to comment, I can understand. I work on my story on my days off, it's the only time I have time. I just may take you up on the offer of using the rest of your gang, it would definitely make things a lot more interesting, not that they aren't already._


	14. The Line's Drawn At Betrayal

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: If you really feel the need to read it flip back to Chapter 1, you'll find it there.

Summary: A few hours after the aftermath of the wreck and one of the Silencerz identity is revealed, or is it?

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 14: The Line's Drawn at Betrayal

Kara lay on the medbed, her eyes now closed in sleep, a bandage still wrapped around her head. It was still a miracle to Vert that Jon and Mikey had managed to pull her from the wreckage of her car before it had exploded. They had said at first glace that the damage to her car hadn't looked that extensive, but something must've shorted and then caused the resulting explosion.

He heard movement at the door and turned to look. Nolo stood there, leaning against the frame, his eyes silently watching Dr. Tezla's niece. "How's she doing?" he finally asked.

"Lani said she's sleeping now." Vert answered as his gaze turned back toward the sleeping form on the bed. "She's doing a lot better than she was. I know Lani was worried there for a little bit, but things seemed to have calmed down once she fell into a deep sleep. Now we just have to wait for her to wake up." He glanced up at Nolo, "She's going to be sore for a while though, she took a nice blow to the head. It was a good thing she had her helmet on."

Nolo nodded his head as he pushed himself away from the door frame and walked slowly into the room, he understood the hidden meaning behind Vert's words. Kara could've very easily been killed in the accident. "She's not going to be happy to know that her car's a complete loss, I don't think she had that one for very long. It looked pretty new to me." He looked down at Kara's sleeping form, "I pity the Silencerz if she ever gets her hands on them. I know I certainly wouldn't want to be any of them."

Vert nodded his head, his gaze continuing to watch Kara. Then he looked up at Nolo, "Trinity's not gonna be very happy either. Shirako and Monkey both took a look at Bass Assault after she left and they both agree that there's a lot of structural damage and the frame's broke in several places."

"Speaking of Trinity, where is she? I haven't seen her with the rest of the Atomic Winds and Courtney's Supra is missing." Nolo asked.

Vert closed his eyes for a moment then opened them to look up at Nolo, "She took Street Thunder into town to look at a new car to replace Assault. She left a couple of hours after the wreck, once Lani had given her a clean bill of health. I guess she only suffered a few scratches, a couple of bruises and a banged up knee as well as a mild concussion. She'll probably be back here in a couple of hours…but then again it all depends exactly what type of car she's looking for and whether or not she can find one in town.

"Courtney didn't seem very happy about Trin taking her car though, think she's afraid that she might wreck it or something. I guess the whole thing of two cars totaled within a month isn't sitting to well with her at the moment." He looked back down at Kara then sighed. "In the end she just might call this guy she knows in Wyoming that owns a garage and has a couple of her spare cars stored and see if he can't have one of them transported down here."

"That'd probably be a little easier than starting a new car completely from scratch," Nolo commented as a slight grin spread across his face.

"Like we're doing?" Vert asked, catching the bait and smiling up at his friend and team leader.

"Yeah, like we're doing, but no one ever said any of us do things the easy way, now did they?" Nolo responded with a grin.

"No, they definitely didn't," Vert agreed.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Octainium pulled into the repair bay at the Silencerz headquarters and promptly pulled into the stall reserved especially for that car. The driver's side door slid outwards than lifted up and the driver slowly got out, placing both feet firmly on the duracrete floor. The helmet was removed and placed on the roof of the car and wavy reddish blond hair cascaded down to just about the small of the driver's back.

A technician slowly approached the car and walked a couple of times around it, surveying the damaged inflicted on the front end. Then stopped and faced the driver who still stood next to the side of the car. "Run into some problems?" the technician asked, looking into the stormy gray-blue eyes of Octainium's driver.

"You could say that," Octainium's driver responded, "Though it would be more likely put that some problems ran into me. Said problems have been dealt with."

The technician nodded their head in understanding, "Admiral Graymond wanted to see you as soon as you reported in."

"Understood. And where can I find the admiral at?"

"He's in his office. We still haven't received any communications from Accelium or Technetium; you didn't by any chance see them while out on assignment?"

The gray-blue eyes narrowed slightly before the driver answered, "No, I didn't _see_ them." With that said the driver turned on their heel, their reddish-blond hair whipping around them and in a stride that gave no indication of being in any sort of hurry headed for the admiral's office.

Walking casually down a couple of corridors and making a few turns here and there when warranted, Octainium's driver finally stopped outside of a large metal door; hitting an admittance button, the driver waited for the signal to come in.

A chime sounded and the heavy metal door slowly slid opened.

The admiral was sitting at his desk, a cigar clenched between his teeth. His beady eyes stared at Octainium's driver as they walked into the small room; at least he thought it was small, he figured since he was an admiral he should have an office that was three times the space of this one. One didn't always get what one thought they should have though.

He took the cigar from his mouth and placed it in an ashtray on the left side of the desk then folded his hands on the desk's top before him. "Corporal Wheeler, I presume you have some good news for me, or at least you had better hope you do." The veiled threat was apparent, even to the young woman that stood before him.

He indicated for her to have a seat in the chair before his desk and she sighed as she did so. She blew a couple of stray strands of hair from before her eyes then fixed her gaze on the aging admiral. "All depends on what you consider good news."

He growled beneath his breath, "Don't play your word games with me young lady! Have you located the Wheeler kid or not?" A sudden gleam entered his eyes, "Have you located your cousin?"

She suppressed the growl that was lodged in her own throat, "Of course I located him _Admiral_. Did you really think I would not?" A predatory grin suddenly crossed her face, "He doesn't even suspect that someone he trusts is actually betraying him." She then chuckled softly, "He doesn't suspect a thing."

"And Bass Assault?" he questioned, his eyes gleaming with pleasure that his plan was working just the way they had intended for it to.

She leaned back in her seat and waved a hand carelessly in the air, "Totaled as planned. Though I'm rather saddened to see it go."

"And Bass Reflex?"

"Will be sent for as planned," she answered.

Admiral Graymond chuckled low in his throat. Things were going exactly as had been planned and it would only be a matter of time until they had Vert Wheeler in their grip and there'd be no escaping this time.

He waved his hand in dismissal. "Good, once your car has been repaired, which should only take a couple of hours, you can return to your mission."

She saluted as she got up from her chair and turned to leave the room. Admiral Graymond cleared his throat, "Adding the vendetta against Shirako was a stroke of genius, you must be commended on your contribution to the plan."

She turned around and smiled at him, but there was something in her smile that gave him a moment's pause. There was something dangerous in that otherwise innocent smile, something that troubled him.

_Hmmm…and the plot thickens. Yes, I know, this was a rather short chapter but it was a rather short informational piece as well and didn't need much more added to it or it probably would've ruined the whole flow for the chapter. As I've said before, things are really going to start to heat up now and hopefully you're still glued to your screen and wanting to know what's going to happen next. If not, then I haven't been doing my job very well, have I?_

_Questions? Comments? Guesses on what you think is going to happen next? Then by all means place them in a review! I can't say this enough, I just love reviews and every single one of them has been positive so I love it even more!_

_Now, to thank those that have left anon. reviews…_

_Chase Wheeler: Thank you so much for the praise. I'm amazed that mine is the only AcceleRacers story that you're monitoring, I guess you must be finding something of interest in my writing, which is very good for me! I know this was a short piece, but it was just basically an informational filler. As for what Trinity is up too, I think you maybe surprised on that. There's still a lot that needs to be revealed concerning her character, but it's all going to be brought to the light shortly. Hope you're still enjoying the story!_

_Phoenix: I have got to say that I like your name…besides Unicorns, I've always held a fascination with the legendary Phoenix, as well as Dragons, which are my favorite mythological creatures. I sent you a reply to your review concerning getting a bit off track, hopefully you received the e-mail. As for being mad…nah, definitely not, you gave a nice review with a simple question, there's no way I could be mad over that. You didn't flame the story after all…that would've just gotten me a bit perturbed and probably a little irritated (along with a bit of sadness thrown in there somewhere) but no, as long as the review is nice and the questions are logical, I never get mad over reviews. Thanks again for the review!_

_Kara: Yeah, we both got concussions, but you got the worst of the two! Better you than me I guess, lol. Oh yes, Kara will definitely be able to knock some sense into our wayward Winds leader…someone has to after all. As for the attraction between Trin and Shirako…I'm just full of surprises aren't I? As for how many chapters will there be…um…that's a good question. I know where this story is to end at, it's just a matter of how many chapters will be in there between this point and the ending…in other words, I'm not sure! I'm figuring there's probably going to be over 20 Chapters total, but I'm not sure. What happened to Octainium…? Well, they're not very happy with Trinity for trying to take them out, let's just say that for the moment. But then again, you already know the whole backstory to Octainium and their driver…so…yeah. I'm so glad I got on the Forums too, now I can talk to you anytime I want and not have to worry about posting a new chapter just to get information out of you, lol! You can thank me all you want for using Kara, but she's your brainchild so I'll still thank you for letting me use her! Thank you again! The credit is still all yours. Now I have one question for you (not pertaining to the story) What are you doing RUNNING into walls? Forgot to ask that in my PM to you._


	15. The First Step To Ruin

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: If you really feel the need to read it flip back to Chapter 1, you'll find it there.

Summary: The Silencerz plan to 'recruit' Vert is now put into play, but things may end in tragedy.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 15: The First Step To Ruin

It hadn't taken a couple of hours to repair the damage done to Octainium; it had only taken approximately forty-five minutes. To say that the mechanics of the Silencerz were efficient didn't give them due credit. They knew their job and knew how to get it completed in the least amount of time possible.

Within an hour of arriving at the base, Octainium and her driver were leaving. There was one more stop to make before the completion of their plan was set into motion. If everything fell into place the way it should, they would have Vert Wheeler within their clutches in a matter of days.

Octainium's driver reached over and patted a small rectangular box that was sitting on the passenger seat. The purple wheel that symbolized the Silencerz Organization was etched into the top of the box and five simple words were written in bold letters on the side of it.

Bass Reflex Camo Skin Software.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

She'd been to five other car dealerships, each one dealing exclusively in Mitsubishi's. She hadn't found a thing she'd liked, not a single thing. Not a one of the cars had jumped out at her, not a one had said 'I'm the one!'

She wanted something reminiscent of Bass Assault, something that reminded her of her baby. Something that would turn heads, something that would be heard long before it was seen coming. The system could be added later, as it had been with Assault and later Reflex. Neither one of the cars were equipped with their original sound systems, the original speakers wouldn't have been able to handle the wattage that would've been passing through them.

But nothing had stood out; nothing was exactly what she was looking for.

So now here she was, the last dealership on her list and it just happened to be located in a ritzy part of town. The price tags on the cars confirmed that, they were all overpriced and there was no way in hell that she was going to be paying that much for a stock car. Hell could freeze over first as far as she was concerned.

She glanced at the silver and topaz accented Galant, her blue eyes momentarily landing on the price tag. She shook her head in disbelief. What, they figured just 'cause they were situated in the to-do part of town that they could up their prices by a couple of grand? They weren't dealing with some stupid moron here that had no clue about these cars or their worth. She was not going to pay a single penny more than what these blenders on wheels were worth.

She allowed her head to move slightly to her left, her eyes landing on the bright blue Galant that sat on the other side of the silver and topaz one. She could just picture what the price tag said for that one.

"Can I help you miss?" someone said from just behind her.

Probably in any other situation she would have jumped, but she'd known for the past couple of moments that the salesman was standing there. She turned around slowly, allowing a bored expression to cross her face.

"Is this all you got?" she asked and allowed her boredom and disinterest to come across in her voice as well.

The man smiled at her, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't consider her a real prospect as a buyer. He probably figured she didn't have the money to buy anyone of these cars. How very wrong he was, she had enough to buy the whole damn dealership if she so wished.

"What were you looking for?" he inquired, the smile on his face as fake as her interest in any of the cars.

"Not anything you've got here," she responded.

This took him back a bit and he allowed a frown to momentarily crease his forehead. "Just what were you looking for?" a harshness had entered his tone. Not very good customer service she thought to herself snidely.

"Like I said, nothing you've got here. All of these things are way overpriced."

He sniffed indignantly, "We sell all our merchandise at suggested retail value."

She allowed one of her eyebrows to rise in interest, "Whose suggested retail value? The manufacturer's or your own?" She walked over toward the bright blue Galant, one of her hands lightly caressing the paint. "This is nice, but the price is too high."

"That one was just shipped in," the salesman stated as if this should explain the price of the car.

She shrugged as if the bit of information didn't matter much in the long run. "Have you got anything in the lines of an Eclipse Spyder or Lancer Evo VIII?"

"Of course," the man said. "They're in the back of the lot with the _more expensive_ cars." His tone of voice really gave the impression that he figured she wouldn't be able to afford them if she was having issues with the price of the Galants.

"Anything in dark blue? Almost a pearlized royal blue?" she asked.

"The shimmer effect costs more and has to be ordered specially." The man answered.

She glanced at him and raised her hand in an 'I-don't-really-care' manner. "I know that, I just wasn't sure if things had changed since I bought my custom Evo. Although the salesman from the dealership I purchased her from was a lot easier to deal with. Then again I guess money really does talk, especially in an area like this. I was willing to pay thirty to forty in cash to have one ordered but I think I'll take my business elsewhere."

The man spit and sputtered for a moment, his eyes almost bulging from their sockets. "Thirty or forty in cash?"

She turned to look at him as if he had grown a second or third head. "Of course. But you don't have anything here that interests me."

He moved to stop her from leaving the dealership lot, one of his hands going to her elbow in an attempt to escort her back towards the 'more expensive' cars. "How about we go take a look just to be sure?"

She smiled knowingly at him; he just couldn't let the possibility of a sale slip through his fingers, especially if the transaction was made in hard green cash. The sudden vibration of her jacket pocket caught her attention.

"Excuse me, I seem to have a call coming through." She turned her back towards him as she flipped her small phone open, after taking it from the pocket of her jacket. There was a message on the screen alerting her that the alarm had gone off.

_Just in time_, she thought to herself. She had set the alarm to a specific time so she would know when to make her phone call. Her very important call; the call that would set everything in motion.

She hit the contacts button and quickly sifted through them, searching for a specific name and number. Moon's Garage appeared on the screen and the small mobile device asked if she wanted to call the number. She hit the send button and waited for the other person to answer.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The lights within the garage were lit up and there was movement apparent from within. Octainium's driver turned her eyes away from the garage windows and slowly walked to a spot behind the garage.

The area behind the garage was heavily forested and the shadows of old and dilapidated cars could be seen hidden amongst the foliage. There were clusters of wrecked cars deposited within the outskirts of the forest, some of the cars looked like they had been sitting there for years, exposed to the harshness of the elements. Broken glass and forgotten parts littered areas of the ground and one had to be careful where they stepped or they ran the risk of stepping on an old muffler or camshaft.

Octainium's driver carefully wove her way further into the depths of the forest, but not so far as not to be able to see the gently illuminated lights of the garage. It was when she was about ten or fifteen feet into the underbrush that she paused and glanced around her. Somewhere within the darkened depths of this forest was the something she was looking for. It was just a matter of finding it.

She held within her gloved hands a small remote and it was this remote that held the key to finding the elusive machines she was looking for.

Holding the remote at about chest level she hit one of the five buttons on it and watched in satisfaction as two cars materialized before her. Technetium and Accelium, the presumed missing in action cars. In reality, neither the cars nor their drivers were missing in action, only certain persons within the hierarchy of the Silencerz knew where the two drivers and their cars were at. Corporal Wheeler was one of them.

It was essential to the completion of the mission that she knew exactly where these two cars were at, at all times.

She walked over to Accelium first and opened the driver's door. She flipped a switch then shut the door and watched with a bemused smile as the car suddenly vanished before her once more. Then she turned to face Technetium and stared at the car in silent contemplation for a few moments.

Turning away from the rally-type racer she walked back to Octainium and grabbed the silver box from within her own car. Slowly she walked toward the silver and purple car that was Technetium. A rather evil grin crossed her face; things were going just as planned. Within a matter of days all the effort they had put into this mission for the past couple of months would finally come to friutation. Each piece of the puzzle was nicely falling into its niche.

From the destruction of Wyldfyre and Cobalt Blue, to the destruction of Bass Assault. The supposed involvement of Shirako Takamoto in the accident that had claimed Serena Wheeler's life and also resulted in the totaling of the aforementioned cars. The supposed disappearance of Accelium, Technetium and their drivers. Placing people near Vert that he believed he could trust…everything was falling into place and now it would only be a matter of time until everything finally paid off.

She opened the driver's door and sat down in the seat. She flipped a switch in this car and waited for the computer to respond. 'Instructions?' flashed upon the built in computer screen within the car.

She touched an area on the computer screen; 'Download new software?' appeared on the screen. She touched the confirm button.

A small disc drive popped open. She opened the top to the silver box and pulled out a shiny silver disc and promptly popped it into the disc drive.

'Download Bass Reflex Camo Skin?' appeared on the screen.

Once again she hit the confirm button.

'Downloading…' appeared on the screen. Seconds later a screen popped up confirming that the new software had been installed. 'Activate Camo Skin?' then appeared on the screen.

Again she hit the confirm button and watched as the car's body was suddenly engulfed in a bright purple light. Once the glow had died down she stared in satisfaction around her. Not only had the exterior of the car taken on the appearance of Trinity's Bass Reflex, so had the interior as well.

Now it was only a matter of waiting until the next phase of the plan was put into motion.

As if on cue she heard a phone begin to ring within the house that sat slightly off to the far side of the garage. The shrill ringing of the phone echoed on loudspeakers set up within the garage and Octainium's driver watched with a pleased smile as the man known as Moon walked from the garage to the house. If things went as they were suppose to, he'd be in the house for a while which would give her time to switch Technetium for the real Bass Reflex.

After searching for a few moments for the keys, she started Technetium up and drove the car around to the front of the garage, taking care not to make to much noise so as not to arouse any suspicion from anyone within the house. The garage door was sitting wide open and the back of the garage was lit up, almost as if it were beckoning to her.

She saw the four cars sitting there and the smile on her face died slightly. Wyldfyre sat there, its body twisted. Next to the tuner Sunfire sat the charred remains of Cobalt Blue, the once blue paint blackened in areas where fire had engulfed the body. Corporal Wheeler allowed her eyes to only focus on the Cobalt for a few seconds, she had a mission to complete and allowing past emotions to cloud her judgment just wouldn't due. She gently pressed the accelerator on Technetium and allowed the car to slowly coast forward until it was sitting in front of the remains of Cobalt Blue.

Putting the car in neutral she exited and walked slowly over toward Bass Reflex. She slowly ran her gloved fingers over the sparkle-flecked white paint, the coolness of the car's metal body reaching through the material of her gloves. "So, you're finally done?" she questioned the car.

Of course there was no answer, but she already knew the answer to her question without even being told.

Yes, Bass Reflex was done, every single system within the tuner hooked up and ready to rock, so to speak.

She opened the driver's side door and plopping down in the seat looked around to see if she could spot the keys. They weren't sitting on the passenger seat nor were they underneath either the driver or passenger's seat. Glancing up she caught the smallest glint of metal. "Ah, there you are!" she softly exclaimed as she pulled the sun visor down and the keys for the car fell into her lap.

"Time to get you out of here," she said softly to the car. "Unlike your sister, nothing's going to happen to you. You're not destined for the same fate as Assault was."

She placed the key in the ignition and turned it gently. Nothing happened, not even a slight attempt for the motor to turn over. She raised an eyebrow in question and wondered if her information on the condition for the car was correct. She had been told it was ready, had been told that its modifications were complete.

She tried the key again and was rewarded with a quick start up this time. Her eyes quickly took in system monitors and gages, making sure that everything was where it was suppose to be. Everything was in the green and the engine was softly rumbling.

"Time to get you out of here and set up with your partner in crime, Accelium," she said softly to the car as she gently applied pressure to the accelerator. She didn't give the white Lancer too much gas, not wanting the rumbling of the engine to alert anyone within the house.

Coasting the car out of the garage she turned it toward the same spot in the darkened woods that Technetium had only moments before claimed. Once she had the car situated in its new parking spot she killed the engine and removed the key from the ignition. Pocketing the key she quickly jogged back into the garage where the fake 'Bass Reflex' was still sitting in front of Cobalt Blue.

She threw 'Reflex' into reverse and swung the car around and within moments had the fake situated in the spot that the original had only seconds before occupied. Putting the keys for Technetium up in the sun visor she quickly exited the garage and made a quick retreat to her own car.

Her final ploy in the mission had been played and now everything was up to Accelium and Technetium's drivers. The success of the plan now rested solely on their shoulders and if they somehow managed to screw things up…it was a thought not worth completing, the implications and ramifications to disturbing to think about.

Activating the cloak on Octainium, she pulled the car from its hiding spot and drove away from the garage, no one the wiser to her activities. Once she was far enough away she pulled the cloaked Silencerz vehicle onto a side road and parked it there, there was still one more thing that needed to be done.

She pulled a small silver and purple cell phone from a pocket on her jumpsuit and quickly entered in a series of numbers. A message appeared on the screen asking what she wanted to do. She selected 'Send a New Text' and waited for the new screen to pop up on the small screen of the cell.

Once the screen appeared she typed in a small and simple message: Tech is ready, the ball is now in your Court.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Thanks Moon," Trinity said just moments before ending the call and placing her phone back in the pocket of her jacket. She turned her attention back to the salesman and gave him a smile that was forced regret. "So sorry, but that was a friend of mine. He's got some connections with a dealership up in Wyoming and managed to snag me a fresh off the line Evo."

"What was the asking price? We could do better." the man inquired, not liking the idea of a sale passing him by. That was money out of his pocket after all.

"I doubt it," she answered as she turned on the ball of her foot, preparing to leave the lot.

"We could get you the same type of car for a couple thousand less and painted in whatever color you'd like free of charge. You just name it."

Trinity gave him a smile that implied sorryness, but it didn't show in her eyes. "I really doubt it. My friend is going to pick it up from the dealership than add some modifications and performance upgrades to it before having it shipped down here." She turned around to walk back toward her cousin's Supra then paused in her stride, throwing over her shoulder, "Now if you could add all the upgrades and modifications free of charge we might have ourselves a deal, but I really doubt you've got those kind of connections."

The man's mouth worked, opening and closing, but no sound came out. He stared in disbelief as the young woman got into a tuned up Toyota Supra, the red car's tires squealing in protest as she threw it into a hard turn.

"Great," he murmured beneath his breath. "There goes a nice commission sale. Wish I would've known ahead of time that she was one of those damn street racers, they always seem to have money to throw around!"

Trinity kicked Street Thunder into the next gear, listening as the car purred in response. The sudden vibration of her phone caught her attention again. She pushed a button on the stereo and the music dropped in intensity so that she could actually hear the light tone of her phone. She had set it to ring and vibrate after ending her call with Moon.

Grabbing her phone from her jacket again she flipped it open and looked at the screen. New text message was flashing at her. _From Serena,_ she thought to herself as she punched the button to show the text.

She read over the text quickly, her eyes darting from phone screen to the road in front of her, making sure that there was no oncoming traffic to worry about. Or cops for that matter.

Flipping the phone shut, she allowed her thoughts to wonder as her eyes stared blankly at the road before her. Her mind went on auto pilot as she navigated back to the manor that Vert and his friends were now occupying.

Her blue orbs were troubled as her mind sifted through exactly what it was that she was doing. For the first time she was experiencing regret and she didn't like it. It wasn't part of her nature and now was a fine time for it to decide to rear its ugly head!

She had a mission to complete and nothing could get in the way of that! There were people depending on her, people that she couldn't fail.

_You're failing Vert or doesn't he count now? _A little voice spoke up in the back of her mind and she attempted to force it into silence.

_What I'm doing is for Vert's own good. He should have a chance to shine, to show what he can actually do and staying with these people isn't going to give him that chance. They're holding him back, keeping him from discovering his true potential._ She argued with the voice, trying to make it see reason. Or was she trying to make herself see reason?

_He's happy where he's at. Do you think he'll be happy if you force him into the Silencerz? He'll hate you if you force this on him._

_He'll discover in time that he belongs with us. He'll see we did him a favor. He'll get over whatever issues he may have with the Silencerz and see that he's better off with us. Better off with his family._ She reasoned, but even she could sense the doubt in her own argument.

_Will he really?_

_In the end, yes he will._

The little voice sniggered, or at least that's what it sounded like. _You weren't very happy when Uncle Jack forced you into the ranks of the Silencerz. You wanted to be your own person, your own racer. You didn't want to take commands from no one; you wanted to continue in your leadership of the Winds._

_I'm still the leader of the Winds!_

_Yeah, only the part time leader. Leti leads them when you're not around, which is more often than not any more. You spend most of your time with the Silencerz, being their little guinea pig. They've brainwashed you into believing everything they say, believing that they can do no wrong._

There was no argument for that. It was true, she hadn't been happy when she had originally been inducted into the ranks of the Silencerz. She had been in the military, one of the mechanics for their ATV's and other vehicles and she had uncanny knowledge of the workings of any car engine. It hadn't taken long before the brass of the Silencerz had taken an interest in her and shorter still before they started making plans to have her shipped into their ranks.

She had fought tooth and nail at first until she had been given a glimpse of Technetium. That had been all it had taken. She wanted the car with a passion she had never known existed.

_No comment?_ The little voice quipped, knowing it had gotten her hook, line and sinker.

_I could leave the Silencerz any time I please._

The little voice snickered again. _Do you honestly believe that? They would never allow you to leave, you know too much. They'd just as soon let you go as they would your uncle or your sister. You're in to deep with no way to escape and they know this. Why else do you think they'd put you and Serena on a mission like this._

Trinity slammed her fist into the steering wheel of Street Thunder and heard the resounding crunch of bone. She cursed beneath her breath as her fingers began to throb in an unholy rhythm.

_Can you honestly betray him without feeling an ounce of guilt? If so, then you're further under their influence then even you could believe._

She ground her foot against the accelerator and felt the engine lurch forward as the power suddenly slammed through the car. Her good hand tightened on the steering wheel as she argued with her conscious.

_You wouldn't only be betraying him; you'd be betraying the rest of them._

_Who cares about the rest of them, I don't owe them a damn thing!_ She ground out, hating herself so very much at the moment. This was an argument she was destined not to win. There was no way possible to win against one's self!

Her inner voice chuckled at this. _You may not owe them a damn thing, but what about yourself? You're attracted to Vert's friend and you can't tell me otherwise. I was there after all._

_That was nothing!_

There was what resembled a snort. _Nothing my ass. He stirred something within you, something you haven't allowed yourself to feel since-_

_Don't you even dare go there! _She screamed at herself just as she was coming up to a sharp hairpin turn. She over estimated the sharpness and felt the backend of Street Thunder kick out from beneath her. She tried compensating for the sudden out of control spin but she corrected too much and sent the car spinning in the opposite direction.

Everything was spinning by to quickly, ass-end spinning around in attempts to meet the front. The tires were screeching in protest as gray smoke billowed up in all directions. She cut the steering wheel sharply, vainly hoping to regain some control of the wildly careening car.

It was a hopeless move as the car continued to careen out of control. Tires continued to scream in protest as suddenly one was ripped right from the rim, metal clashing against asphalt and sending sparks flying into the air. The fingers of her broken hand tightened on the steering wheel as her other hand went to the e-brake, hoping against hope that that at least would help in some way.

Grabbing the e-brake roughly she pulled it up as far as it would go but nothing happened. The Supra continued in its wild spin, the scenery flashing past in maddening revolutions.

All motion stopped instantaneously as the car slammed broadside into a telephone pole, just behind the driver's door. Then everything was silent, save for the still rumbling engine, but after the passage of a few seconds even that to gave way to silence.

_And so we have another cliffhanger. Trinity manages to utterly and completely destroy yet another car, but this time it wasn't her own and there's no backup for this one. And now she has to deal with Courtney, who didn't want her taking Street Thunder in the first place._

_The heat is on as the Silencerz continue to close in on Vert and he doesn't even suspect a thing…at least not yet._

_Comments? Guesses on what you think is going to happen next? Then by all means, leave them in a review. I can not stress enough how much I enjoy reading the reviews you leave._

_Now, onto the shout outs to those that left anon. reviews:_

_RacerBoy-Chase: Glad to see that you've gotten your own account. Keep up the good work on your own story and I'll see what I can do with my own. I honestly can't wait for your next chapter. Hope to see the companion piece out soon as well, but don't quit on Neo, I'm enjoying it so far._

_Kara: Yeah, Serena is rather evil. But you already know that since you basically know everything that's going to happen now, lol. I'll catch you on the forums at some point soon I hope._

_Dark672: Good as always. Glad to know._

_Moriko: blinks I honestly don't think I want to face the wrath of Wylde so yeah…here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Glad the last chapter was a kinda unexpected thing, that's what I'm going for with this story. I think everything is basically out in the light now…at least concerning Serena, Trinity and the Silencerz. Just please don't sick Wylde after me! Shirako maybe, but not Wylde, he just scares me sometimes, lol._


	16. The Second Step to the Road of Ruin

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: If you really feel the need to read it flip back to Chapter 1, you'll find it there.

Summary: The road to ruin is not always an easy one. Sometimes even the best of plans are not always successful, as the Silencerz may well discover.

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 16: The Second Step to the Road of Ruin

The red Supra sat wrapped around the telephone pole, rear end and front end nearly meeting in a way that was not supposed to be physically possible. The designers of the car had never intended for the car to be in this type of accident, never intended for it to end up the way this Supra had inevitably found itself.

Gasoline leaked from a cracked tank and the distinctive odor of the fuel permeated the air. Bright green fluid leaked from a ruptured radiator as murky gray liquid dripped from what was left of the shattered oil pan. The once proud Supra was in a sad state, something its owner probably had never dreamed of seeing.

Luckily she was not there to see it.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Nice to see you amongst the land of the living again," Lani said as she finished up her examination and gave a nod to the dark haired young woman before her. Everything checked out good, the bump and bandage on the young lady's forehead the only indication of the accident earlier. There would be aches and pains, but they were to be expected, she was just damn lucky to still be alive.

"Glad to be back," Kara said wryly as she got up from the med-bed. She ran her hands down over her shirt, smoothing imagined wrinkles from the fabric. "How long was I out?"

"Only a couple of hours," Lani answered. "You had us worried there for a little while. The bump to your head was pretty bad."

Kara reached a hand up to her bandaged forehead and grimaced. "I can bet my Sunfire looks worse for wear too."

A dark look crossed Lani's face and she looked away from Tezla's niece. Kara's eyes narrowed as she quickly grabbed hold of Lani's arm, forcing the other young woman to look at her. "There's something you're not telling me here Lani, what is it?"

"Your Sunfire's a total loss," Lani said as Kara suddenly flopped back down on the med-bed, a look of complete dismay crossing the other young woman's face.

"What?" Kara asked. "The damage couldn't have been that bad." Her voice was barely above a whisper, her mind still trying to digest what she had been told. It just couldn't be true!

"It exploded Kara. Your car's nothing but a mangled mess of charred parts now. It's down in the garage along with Trinity's Lancer, but both cars are totaled."

Kara looked away from the other dark-haired young woman for a few seconds then pinned her with a dark glare. "It was that damn Silencerz car, wasn't it? That damn driver took both of us out and probably didn't receive even a minor scratch from the whole thing!" Then her expression slacked slightly and she glanced around the med-bay. "Both cars are totaled? Is Trinity ok?"

"She's fine, she only received a minor concussion and a few scrapes and bruises. She left a couple of hours ago to look at a new car. Her cousin said she'll probably be back in a few more hours, depending on whether or not she finds anything of interest." Lani answered, then her gaze wondered toward the door. "There's a few people that probably wouldn't mind knowing that you're all right."

Kara glanced up at Lani and absently nodded her head. She still couldn't believe that her pride and joy was gone. In a blink of an eye the beauty she had created from scratch was gone. She had spent a lot of time on the plans for that car and in just a few short seconds it was all gone. Just like that, gone up in smoke. Someone was going to pay for this and they'd pay dearly.

She shook her head, still not believing it. Then she looked up at Lani, "She's really gone? There's no possibility of restoring her?"

Lani sadly shook her head in response. "Both Shirako and Monkey looked both cars over. They both agreed that your Sunfire and Trinity's Lancer are done for. The damage was too extensive, the damage from the fire so severe. Everything would have to be replaced; it'd just be a lot simpler to start with a new car."

Kara nodded her head, but by damn, she didn't like it! Didn't like it one bit, someone was going to pay for this travesty and if she ever got her hands on that damn Silencerz driver…well, there'd be all types of hell to pay.

Lani laid a calming hand on the other's shoulder and smiled gently. "Everyone else is down in the common room I believe. Though some of them may have wondered into the garage to work on their cars."

Kara nodded her head. "I'm ok to leave then?"

"Yeah, everything checks out now. You should be fine, but if you become disoriented or dizzy, I want you to let me know immediately. You did suffer from a severe concussion and everyone reacts differently to such things. If anything seems out of the ordinary, make sure you let me know, ok?"

Kara nodded her head again. "Ok…so I can leave then?"

"Yeah." Lani answered as she helped Kara up from the med-bed once again. "Just remember-"

"Yeah, I know: If anything seems out of the ordinary let you know."

Lani nodded her head and smiled. "Good, now get on out of here!"

Kara didn't need to be told twice. She wandered aimlessly down the hallways for a couple of minutes. She knew where she was going but she was in no hurry to get there anytime soon. Her car was an obliterated mess after all and she felt like thrashing the first person that irritated her. To say she was in a lethal mood was probably the understatement of the century.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of wondering around she finally arrived at the common room, but she didn't go in right a way. Instead she stood outside of the door for a few minutes, mentally debating with herself on whether or not she really felt like dealing with those inside. In the end she finally grabbed hold of the handle and pushed the door open.

She was greeted by most of the Teku and Maniacs. Only a few were missing, Shirako wasn't there and neither were Kurt or Wylde, the Atomic Winds were unaccounted for as well. Vert was the first one to notice her standing there in the doorway. It didn't take him long to get up from his seat and walk over to her.

"You're up!" he said as he smiled at her. "How ya feeling?"

She grimaced as her hand went to her forehead of its own volition. "Like I just got ran over by a semi?" she quipped.

"I can imagine," Karma said from her spot on a couch next to Taro.

Kara noticed that the other young woman, the only other female in the room, was leaning back against the Maniac driver and she looked pretty comfortable doing it. Kara smiled blandly and waved a hand in the air, "But Lani gave me a clean bill of health and told me to beat it."

"You had a severe concussion!" Nolo said from the chair he was sitting in, across the room from the couch that Taro and Karma were occupying. "Is she sure it's wise for you to be up and moving around so soon?"

"I wasn't going to argue with her," Kara said as she walked further into the room and sat down on the couch that Vert had just previously vacated. Vert followed her and sat down next to her. "Besides," she continued, "I'm not one for remaining out of action for very long. Don't like hospitals or anything that remotely resembles them."

"I can agree with that," Pork Chop said, remembering his own time in the med-lab within the old AcceleDrome. He was sitting on a couch across from the couch that Vert and Kara were now sitting in, Monkey and Tork sitting with him.

There was the sudden echoing of techno music out in the hallway and moments later the door opened to reveal Shirako. His head was bouncing to the beat of his music as his eyes slowly surveyed the gathered group. He nodded his head in Kara's general direction, "Yo," he simply said in greeting.

Then he turned his attention to Vert. "Can I borrow Reverb for a little while?"

Vert raised his brows in interest. Apparently the silent Asian had decided on muttering a few more words than normal today. "What for?" Vert finally asked.

"Need to get some new tunes and supplies for the new ride," Shirako answered, his music never dropping a single decibel during the entire exchange.

It amazed everyone that he could hear a single word they were saying and a few wondered if he'd picked up on the talent of reading lips. It was the only way he'd be able to understand what they were saying.

"Sure, go ahead. The keys are already in her," Vert answered and watched as Shirako nodded his head then turned around and left the room.

"Good riddance," Pork Chop muttered just as soon as the door had closed behind the music crazed Teku driver. "At least we'll have a couple hours of peace."

Music suddenly blasted through the manor and Pork Chop groaned as his fists clenched next to his sides. "At least he's leaving," the burly man groaned beneath his breath.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Pork Chop but that's not music from Reverb," Vert said, a smile threatening to spill across his face. "Besides, that doesn't sound like something Shirako would listen to."

Pork Chop slouched in his seat, "Would it do me any good to curse your cousins and their blasted friends?"

"Probably not," Vert answered.

"Why is it so loud though?" Karma asked. "Even Bassline couldn't crank out that amount of wattage and it was built for just such a thing."

Vert listened for a second and even he had to agree as he watched the glass in the windows suddenly start to rattle as the music was cranked to an even louder pitch. That was much to loud for any one of the Atomic Winds cars, which meant only one thing. The three remaining Winds cars were synched up and blaring the exact same music at the exact same time.

"At least its not that techno crap they were listening to when they first arrived," Pork Chop groaned, his voice barely heard above the din of the music. "Those damn Winds are going to give me a headache!"

"They've already given me one," Tork complained as he held his hands up to his head, his fingers meticulously rubbing small circles against his temples. "Don't suppose there's someway to blow their speakers for them, is there?"

"I doubt it, I've tried it after all," Vert replied.

All eyes turned to regard him and he smiled sheepishly. "They used to listen to shit that even I wouldn't dream of. Sappy stuff that had no right to even be listened to. Anyhow, I thought it would be interesting to blast their speakers to hell and back. It didn't work very well. Apparently their systems are set up with backup wiring. If the main wiring is fried the backup comes on-line. Of course, I learned that the hard way. Trin and Court were laughing their heads off at me. They thought it was pretty damn funny."

"Good thing your resident music crazed driver doesn't have something like that in his car," Pork Chop said.

"You never know, he just may. He's never blown his speakers before that we know of." Nolo responded.

Pork Chop just groaned and rolled his eyes.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Shirako walked into the garage, the blare of the Winds' music pounding through even his headphones. The four remaining Winds drivers, minus their leader, were gathered around the yellow Mustang. Wires and other mechanical apparatus were strewn all over the place, including across the hood of the yellow Ford.

"I don't need this crap installed in Powerdyne! She fine just the way she is!" Leti was complaining as Mikey suddenly rolled out from beneath the classic car.

"You won't even know it's been installed. The computer will be hidden away and will automatically connect with the one in Street Thunder or whatever new car Trin happens to get." Mikey was saying as he got up from the mechanics roller he'd been on. "Then all of our cars will be able to perfectly synch whatever it is we're listening to."

"My music is just fine thank you very much," Leti said, allowing a slight note of irritation to eclipse her voice.

"Your music sucks half the time," Courtney laughed as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Is it my fault I'd rather listen to something a little bit more softer and _understandable _than the shit you guys like to listen to?" Leti countered.

"Yes!" the three other Winds chorused.

"Your impossible," Leti ground out.

"Hey, it makes things much more interesting when all of our cars are playing the same tune, then people can really hear us coming from miles away." Mikey said, a smile playing across his face. They'd had this argument countless times and for some odd reason Leti had always won out in the end. Of course, Trinity had always been there to put the rest of the Winds in their place and let the Asian woman alone. Powerdyne was her car after all and if she didn't want the synched computer installed, she didn't have to have it.

But Trinity wasn't here right now and it was three against one and the other three were going to get their way just this once. There was going to be no if, ands or buts about it!

Leti just rolled her eyes but conceded, knowing she was not destined to win the argument. At least not this time, she didn't have Trinity in her corner.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted Shirako, a smile playing across his face. He must've witnessed the whole exchange. She allowed a scowl to cross her face as she approached her cousin. "And just what do you find so funny?"

He just shrugged his shoulders but didn't answer.

"You can take those damn headphones off for once in your life ya know!" she ground out and actually reached up to remove them.

He dodged her hand and actually slapped it way in mid-motion. "Don't even think about it!"

"It won't hurt you to have those things turned off for once. I wonder sometimes if you even take them off when you shower."

"It would and I do," he answered both of her thoughts at once.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "And what brings you down here? I would've thought you'd be upstairs with the rest of your team and friends."

Shirako pointed over toward Reverb, "Got some stuff to do."

Leti nodded her head in understanding, "Heading into town?"

He nodded is head.

"I'd ask to go a long but I'm half scared to let my poor baby here alone with these idiots. There's no telling what else they'd try to install if I weren't here."

"We heard that!" One of the 'said idiot's' responded. Courtney wore a hurt expression on her face as a smile softly graced her lips. "Nice to know what you honestly think of your teammates," her voice held a faked note of hurt in it but the look in her eyes belied that emotion.

Shirako just smiled at his cousin. "Gotta go," he said simply.

"Yeah, I don't want to keep you from your precious music after all," Leti replied, a smile crossing her lips as she lightly hit Shirako on the arm.

He just continued to smile then turned on his heel and headed toward Reverb. "I'll be back in a few hours," he said as he opened the door to the car and got in.

He had no idea that he'd be back much sooner than that.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The music was blaring from Reverb as the blue car accelerated down the road. The tires ate up the road and the driver never paid attention to his speed, just loving the feel of the rumbling of the car around him. It had been to long since he had been behind the wheel and it sent a primal emotion coursing through his blood.

Anyone that had never raced could never hope to understand the state of euphoria he found himself in as the car continued to pick up speed. Adrenaline pumped through his system as his foot continued to floor the accelerator. Yes, he had indeed missed this, more than he had thought was possible.

He was just coming up to a hairpin turn and started to decelerate. Downshifting he took his eyes off the road for a second as he changed the track, another techno beat filtering through the speakers.

Looking up, he suddenly swerved once he noticed the red Supra meshed against the telephone pole on the opposite side of the road. He'd seen that car someplace before and it took him a couple moments to realize where. It belonged to Vert's cousin Courtney.

He slammed on the breaks, not caring as Reverb suddenly groaned in protest. The wants and needs of the car took backseat after he'd realized exactly where he'd seen the Supra from before. He knew Courtney wasn't the one driving it, he knew that Trinity had taken the car into town to look at a replacement for her destroyed Lancer.

He threw Reverb into neutral and quickly exited while at the same time grabbing his cell phone from within his white jacket. Flipping the phone open he simply hit the send button and waited for the automated voice to ask who he wanted to call. "Vert," he said, his friend's name being the first that popped into his head.

He listened as the phone began to ring, all the while making a mad dash for the wrecked Supra. There was no movement from within, the driver's side being the side that had made impact with the pole.

His phone clicked and he heard Vert's voice come over the line, "What's up Shirako and don't tell me you wrecked my car!"

He got right to the point, ignoring Vert's joking. "Tell Lani I'm coming in, Trinity wrecked the Supra."

"What!" he heard Vert shout. "Is she all right?"

"I dunno," Shirako answered, he'd just reached the mangled car and things weren't looking to hot from his perspective. Trinity wasn't moving and her head was lulled to the side. He spotted the NOS canisters situated in the area reserved for the backseat and knew that it could only be a possibility of a few seconds before they blew, or they might not go up at all.

"Trinity!" he yelled into the car. There was no response. "Hey, can you hear me?"

He banged a couple of times on the passenger window, there was no way to get near the driver's side, the telephone pole was embedded in it to deeply.

"Is she all right?" Vert asked again.

"I don't know!" Shirako nearly yelled into the phone. "I'll call you back once I get her out," with that he shut the phone, not even giving Vert the time to respond. He tried slipping the phone back into his pocket but missed and the small phone hit the ground, sending up a small cloud of dust. He didn't pay it any mind.

He pounded on the window some more, hoping to at least get her to wake up. She didn't even stir. Grabbing hold of the door handle he attempted to open the door, but whether it was locked or jammed from the accident wasn't positive, what was positive was that it wouldn't open.

He glanced around at the ground, searching for something he could use to break the glass of the window with. He spotted a large rock wedged beneath the front tire. Bending down, he hoped he could dislodge it from the beneath the tire. No such luck, it didn't even budge.

He looked around some more and found a smaller rock just beneath the car. Grabbing hold of it he slammed it against the window. It cracked the glass, but that was about it. He slammed it against the glass again, determined it was going to break one way or another.

Another cracked formed, but the glass was being stubborn and refusing to break.

Feeling his anger building he slammed the rock against the window with all this strength and watched in satisfaction as the glass suddenly shattered, spilling into the car's interior. Glass littered almost every part of the passenger's side, but he paid it no mind as he reached in and grabbed hold of the lock, being thankful that at least the locks weren't powered. Manual was good in some respects, and this was one of them.

He grabbed hold of the door handle again and gave it a good yank, expecting some sort of resistance. He was thrown off balance as the door suddenly gave way and he stumbled a few feet backwards.

His surprise was quickly thrown off and he dived into the car, once again not paying attention to the glass that was now strewn all about the interior. He glanced at Trinity's face. It was pale and a large cut was trickling blood down the side of her face.

And she didn't appear to be breathing either.

"Trinity!" he shouted.

She didn't respond.

He was at a loss of what to do. He'd never been in this kind of circumstance before. He didn't have a clue what should be done. He knew he needed to get her out of the car, but what then?

Grabbing hold of the racing harness, he quickly undid the fasteners and caught her as she suddenly slumped forward. She was dead weight in his arms as he bodily drug her from the car.

Laying her down a little ways from the wrecked Supra, he quickly checked her pulse. There was none and she still wasn't breathing. His mind sifted back through what he had learned about CPR.

Tilting her head back and plugging her nose, he gently breathed two quick breaths into her lungs. She didn't respond.

He straddled her prone form, placing his hands just below her heart and compressed five times. He glanced up at her face to see if there was a reaction of any sort. Still nothing.

"Damn it," he ground out between clenched teeth. "Don't you dare die on me!"

He moved so that he was once more near her face and tilted her head back again. He plugged her nose and breathed in two breaths again. He studied her face but again there was no reaction.

He moved to straddle her midsection again, placing his hands once again just below her heart. He pushed his hands down and upwards, attempting to get her lungs working as well as her heart.

Again there was no response.

_Am I doing something wrong?_ He mentally asked himself.

He shook his head in answer, as far as he could remember he was doing everything correctly. Then why wasn't it working?

_Maybe she's been gone for to long?_ He wondered.

"I refuse to believe that," he ground out in a low voice.

He moved back to her head and repeated the motions over again. He still got no response and his hope was slowly starting todwindle.

"Come on!" he said between clenched teeth, "Vert'll kill the both of us if something happens to you!"

He was just starting to straddle her again when she suddenly coughed, her body spasming with the action. Her eyes opened slowly as she drew in a couple more breaths of air.

She continued to stare up at the sky for a few more moments before she finally turned her ocean blue eyes to look down at him. She then opened them wide as a blush of embarrassment suddenly flared to life on her cheeks. "What…" she started, "What are you doing?"

His dark eyes met her blue ones and he actually blushed himself. He was all too aware of the fact that he was still straddling her. "You weren't breathing," he explained.

She nodded her head slightly in understanding, the blush still not leaving her cheeks. "Um…I think I'm ok now, really." She smiled. Her blush suddenly deepened, "Um, I think you can get off of me now."

He smiled down at her while his own blush deepened in intensity. Then he scrambled off of her, once on his feet he offered her a hand up. She sat up slowly, her head aching while her temples began to thump to an unholy rhythm. One hand was planted firmly in the dirt of the ground while the other one went up to her face, tracing a gentle line across her left cheek.

She glanced at her fingers as she drew her hand away, her eyes widening as she saw blood on her fingertips. She glanced up at Shirako, her eyes wearily meeting with his own, then she broke the connection and glanced over toward where the Supra still sat. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the events of the past couple minutes resurfaced in her mind. "Oh shit, I'm dead. Court is going to _kill_ me."

"I think that she'll be happy that you're ok," Shirako said, drawing her eyes back to him. "You messed that car up pretty badly; it could have been a lot worse."

Trinity shook her head, "You don't understand, by the time Courtney's done with me I'll have wished I died in that accident. While Bass Assault has a replacement waiting in the wings, Street Thunder doesn't." She groaned as she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin against them, "She's going to kill me."

"You're over exaggerating."

Trinity glared up at him, "Oh no I am not. She's going to kill me, slowly and painfully for wrecking her car. She didn't even want me taking her in the first place and now look at her! She's a mangled mess of metal! I'm so dead!" she groaned the last part out, her chin returning to rest on her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs, drawing her legs even closer to her body.

"She'll just be happy that your ok," Shirako reinterated.

Trinity grimaced, "You don't know her the way I do. She's going to hold this over my head for quite a while. I'll probably end up replacing Street Thunder in the end." She blinked a couple of times as her mind suddenly seemed to take off in a completely different course, "It wouldn't be the first time I've had to do that."

"Huh?" Shirako asked, a look of curiosity crossing his face.

She glanced up at him, "A while back I had to replace a friend's car after I took it off road and right into a lake."

It was Shirako's turn to blink a couple of times, "How did you manage to drive it into the lake?"

A rather sheepish look crossed her face, "It wasn't there the day before! Or at least I don't think it was."

"You…don't…think…it was?" A look of complete disbelief flared to life on the Asian's face.

Trinity now chose to stare at the ground, any place other than at his face. "Well, I had drove past the pasture quite a few times before, but never paid much attention to it before that. I decided on that day that I wanted to take Rocky's truck through the field…and ultimately chase the damn cows around." Then she decided to look up at him, "How was I supposed to know that there was a lake on the other side of the small hill?"

"Chase cows around?"

"Yeah, there's nothing like watching them turn tail and try to get a way from a big red truck that's barreling down on them."

Shirako shook his head, "You have some interesting ways to pass the time in Wyoming."

She grinned up at him, "You have no idea."

Something suddenly occurred to her, "Ya know, Vert told me once, shortly after we'd gotten here and he'd introduced us to the rest of you that you don't talk very much. You'd much rather stay in your own little world listening to that music of yours, but you seem to be doing an awful lot of talking now."

Shirako just stared at her for a couple of seconds before a grin split his face, then he offered her his hand again. "Come on, let's get you back to the manor so Lani can take a look at the gash on your face and to make sure you're ok."

She took his offered hand, his skin warm to the touch and another blush crept up her throat to blossom across her cheeks again. "No comment?" she questioned as she was pulled to her feet.

The edges of her vision suddenly darkened and her head began to spin. She felt light-headed and was having trouble deciding whether or not she was still standing on her own two feet, it certainly felt like she wasn't.

The world suddenly tilted and she felt two arms wrap around her waist. "You ok?" she heard a voice whisper in her ear, the breath warm against the skin of her ear and neck.

She turned her head to look at him and found herself staring directly into his eyes, his face just a breadth from her own, their lips just millimeters apart. It would take just a slight bit of leaning on either one of their parts for the gap to be distanced.

Her eyes wondered down to his lips then crept back up to meet again with his dark irised orbs. He was still staring at her, but his eyes were hooded, making it impossible for her to tell what was going through his mind. He had made no indication that he was interested in her, gave her no clue what his feelings might be and she was going to be damned to make the first move, she wouldn't go through that again!

_Rocky!_ Her mind screamed.

Images of the red truck flared to life before her eyes. She still could see it as it careened over the cliff that had claimed her lover's life. She had refused after that to allow herself to love again, but someone this guy had gotten by her well laid guard. Somehow without her even realizing it he had gotten by her barriers and wedged himself in her heart.

It just didn't seem possible, not in the short amount of time that they had known one another!

She suddenly felt his arms tighten their hold on her and she was brought back to her current situation. She blinked a couple of times and looked back into his eyes, they seemed to be trying to tell her something, something he didn't seem able to voice.

She found herself breathless as his lips suddenly descended toward her own, meeting her lips in a torrent of emotions. Her eyes closed as she brought her arms up to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer yet. He responded by tightening his embrace, drawing her body tightly up against his own.

Her mind was swimming and her knees felt like they were about to buckle beneath her. Only his arms wrapped around her waist kept her from falling. But she was still falling though, spiraling out of control in an ocean of emotions, none that she had any control over at the moment.

_This isn't part of the plan! _Her mind screamed at her. _You're not supposed to fall for him. This wasn't supposed to happen!_

_Shut up!_ The tiny voice in the back of her mind screamed back. _Maybe this is exactly what's supposed to happen. Maybe this is truly what her destiny was meant to be._

_No, her destiny is with the Silencerz, like the rest of her family._

_Vert isn't part of the Silencerz and never will be. _The tiny voice responded.

_In time he will be, if she sticks to the plan. But this isn't part of the plan. She needs to stop._

Trinity willed both of the voices into silence; she didn't want either one of them to disturb what was going on. Still though, she wasn't entirely sure what was going on. She had a rough idea, but that didn't mean anything. This could just be something happening in the heat of the moment. Maybe he'd felt some sort of compassion and sympathy for her…there was no guarantee what his feelings were toward her. He'd never voiced them or given her any indication that he felt anything for her.

He was a teenage boy after all and most of the time they thought with their nether regions more than the mind they had been given. This could just be his hormones working in overdrive, taking advantage of the situation.

Shirako pulled away from her, his eyes focusing quickly on her own. She wore a guarded look and he suddenly found himself debating whether or not he had been right in her interest of him. Was she sorry that he had kissed her? Better yet, was she ready to slap him into the next state?

"Sorry," he said softly as his eyes suddenly focused on anything but her face. Even the ground seemed much more interesting at the moment.

Her arms were still wrapped around his neck and with a simple movement of her shoulder she was able to bring his gaze back to her own. "Don't be," she said softly as she placed a soft kiss on his lips. She tightened her embrace and leaned her forehead against his shoulder; her voice was muffled as she spoke again, "Please don't be. You've got nothing to be sorry for."

His lips gently pressed against the juncture of her shoulder and neck, and he realized suddenly that she smelled like vanilla spice and fresh ripened cherries. He breathed in her unique scent, his breath tickling her skin. This caused a shiver to course through her body.

"Cold?" he asked softly, his lips gently teasing her flesh, causing her to shiver again.

"No," she answered in a lowered voice as she pulled her head back slightly to look into his eyes. A hint of a smile ghosted across her face, "It's you actually."

He stared at her for a couple of seconds, not sure entirely of what she was talking about. A wicked grin suddenly crossed her face and she leaned up slightly so that she could blow gently against his own ear. She felt a slight shiver race through his body and she smiled up at him in triumph.

He just grinned back at her, his lips lowering as he once again kissed her.

Once he pulled back she glanced up at him, her lips curving into a smile once more. She leaned her head against his shoulder again, a sigh escaping from her lips. "I think I could get used to this in all honesty."

He pulled her closer, his lips resting on the juncture of her shoulder and neck once more, inhaling deeply of her perfumed skin. "You and me both."

She hugged him, her body pressed intimately against his own. "Glad to hear it."

A sudden soft beeping filled the air and both turned to look toward the shattered Supra. "My phone," he said softly. He looked down at her, "I'd called Vert after I found your car. He's probably beyond worried since I cut him off without really giving him any details on what was happening. I'm surprised him and the rest of the posse hasn't showed up yet."

She giggled, "Perhaps you had better go and get your phone and let him know I'm ok. I'll grab mine out of Street Thunder, Courtney's probably called it a dozen times over."

He nodded his head and took her hand as he headed towards the remains of Street Thunder. She blushed slightly, the feel of his skin against hers something new, but she liked it and hoped that nothing would destroy this brand new feeling that was just now awakening inside of her. She wanted it to last, but knew that if the Silencerz had anything to do with it, they'd make sure that what she had just discovered wouldn't be given the time to become what it had the possibility to become.

She'd fight tooth and nail though to see that that never happened. They most certainly would not take this from her as well, she was finished with allowing them to control her life for her. Her time with the Silencerz was over!

Shirako grabbed his cell phone from where it had fallen on the ground and watched as Trinity literally hopped through the open door of the Supra. She glanced around the mangled mess of the interior, searching through broken glass and other odd parts until she finally found her tiny silver and purple phone lying on the floor boards of the passenger side.

She allowed her eyes to wander around the inside of the car some more, she knew there was something else she was looking for, something else that had been in one of her pockets…oh yeah, Courtney's favorite CD. She'd taken it out when she'd put her own music blend in the CD player.

Something sparkling down near the gas pedal caught her attention. Lying flat across the two front seats, she reached beneath the steering wheel and grabbed the small flat silver disk from where it had fallen. She glanced at it, her hand tightening around it to an almost painful point.

The tracer that had been placed in Bass Assault, the little device that had allowed those privileged few at the Silencerz HQ to know her whereabouts at all times. She glanced up at where Shirako was standing, he was watching her with a concerned eye.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

She grinned up at him as she placed the small silver disk back where she had found it. "Yeah, everything's fine." She glanced at where the key was still in the ignition, still turned to run. She patted the dashboard of the ruined Supra.

_You've seen us through a lot of rough times, sorry it has to end this way_, she thought as she touched a simple button located near the NOS injector button. The delayed nitrous purge. Within a few moments the car would send a nitrous purge through the engine, the result with the ignition still turned to run: big explosion.

With the resulting explosion, the tracer would be destroyed and those within the Silencerz would have no way of tracking her.

_There's a flaw in your plan._

_What?_ Just great, the little voice was back. Couldn't she get any peace from it?

_Bass Reflex. Or should I say Technetium?_

_Oh shit! I forgot completely about her. Damn, damn, damn!_

"Vert?" she heard Shirako speaking from somewhere within the back of her mind. "Yeah, she's fine. Street Thunder is probably a complete loss though." He paused and she turned her eyes to look up at him.

_The nitrous purge! Don't you think you should be getting away from this car…like right now?_

_Shit! Damn it, would you get out of my head!_

_That's a no go. Can't do that and you know it._

_Go away!_

_How 'bout you get a way from the Supra, I don't feel like being completely obliterated today after all._

_Damn!_

She calmly exited the ruined car and looked up at Shirako innocently. He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was looking at him like that. "Tell Vert we'll be back in a little bit." She said as she walked past him, grabbing his hand as she did so.

He just shook his head but followed her. "We'll be back in a few Vert, then you can make sure for yourself that she's ok."

They were just about to Reverb when an explosion rocked their surroundings. Shirako turned to watch as the car literally exploded into a half a dozen pieces, the chassis literally being blown up into the air, the wheels coming a full two feet off of the ground. Trinity turned around at the same time, a look of satisfaction crossing her face.

Vert's voice could be heard over the small cell phone, "What in the hell was that!"

"Street Thunder just going up in a blaze of glory," Trinity answered as she took the phone from Shirako. He was still staring dumbfounded at the inferno that had only moments before been a wrecked car.

"Are you two all right?" Vert questioned.

"We're fine. Might want to bring something to put this fire out when you guys bring the wrecker to collect her. Better yet, why don't you bring some marshmellows. I'm hungry now."

Vert was silent for a few moments, "Your hungry now?" he questioned.

"Yeah," she answered, a smile threatening to turn the corners of her lips upwards. "We'll talk to you as soon as we get back."

She didn't even give him time to reply as she closed the phone and handed it back to Shirako. He just stared at her; something told him that the explosion had been intentional. That she had purposely sent the car up in flames, but he didn't understand or know why.

"Ready?" she asked him as she opened the passenger door to Reverb. She didn't give him time to reply as she sat down and shut the door behind her.

Shirako shook his head as he too got in the car. He just looked over at her before starting the engine and tearing off down the road. She smiled at him, but there was something behind her blue eyes that told him there was more to her than he would ever realize. That she had skeletons in her closet that would probably scare the living crap out of him.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Reverb pulled into the garage, the blue car's tires squealing as it came to an abrupt stop just before the Atomic Winds' cars. Lani was waiting there for the two occupants to exit the car; she intended to make certain that Trinity was all right. They'd heard the explosion of Street Thunder all the way within the depths of the manor.

She watched as first Shirako then Trinity exited the car. The first thing she noticed was the deep gash that ran across the blond's left cheek. Blood was smeared across her face, making it apparent that she hadn't even attempted to clean the blood away. There had probably been more important things at the moment than worrying about the drying blood.

She walked up to Trinity and closely examined the deep gash. It was deep but didn't look like it would require stitches. If the blond was lucky it wouldn't leave a scar either.

"Any dizziness?" Lani questioned.

Trinity waved her off, "I'm fine. It's just a minor cut, that's all."

"Why don't you let Lani be the judge of that?" Shirako questioned from behind the blond racer.

She whirled around to glare at him, "I've been in enough accidents before and have sustained injuries far worse than this. This is nothing."

He smiled at her, "Don't make ya an expert on such things though."

She just continued to glare at him, then gave a rather unlady-like snort. "I think I'd know better than anyone if things weren't as they're supposed to be, don't ya?"

"How about we go to the infirmary just to make certain?" Lani questioned, bringing both of the arguing racers eyes to her. "You could have sustained another concussion or something worse. Besides, I'd like to clean that cut up and put a bandage on it."

"You've got a second thing coming if you think I'm gonna walk around with some damn bandage plastered across my face!" Trinity nearly growled. She was getting ganged up on and she knew it.

"I just want to make sure everything's ok, that's all. We've got bandages that blend in with the skin tone so no one will know you've got one on." Lani said, her voice soft as she tried to defuse the temper of the blond.

Apparently the short temper fuse ran in the Wheeler family. She'd seen Vert loose his a couple of times and was always glad she'd never been on the receiving end of it. Apparently Trinity had a temper to match that of her cousin…would Courtney's be just as bad then? The other cousin seemed more calm and down to earth, so it was hard to tell.

Trinity gave another snort. "I'm fine," she ground out as she attempted to walk past Lani; she didn't get very far for her world suddenly went dark. It just seemed as if somebody had suddenly turned the lights out, everything just went black. She had the feeling of falling and the vaguest of notions of someone catching her but she wasn't certain for her world was suddenly engulfed by complete night.

"Trinity!" she heard Shirako's voice, but it seemed so far away.

Images suddenly began flashing before her in the darkness. She didn't like what she was seeing and felt herself scream, but it got lodged someplace within her throat.

_Why of all times did this have to happen now? _Was her last coherent thought before the blackness became all consuming and she found herself swallowed up by the images flashing before her.

_Well, there we go, the longest chapter so far. Hope you enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing it. The plot thickens now doesn't it. Or maybe it doesn't, I don't know. You be the judge on that._

_Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave them in a review. I thrive on reviews after all._

_Now onto the usual shout outs:_

_Moriko: grins But Wylde does suck at driving! Sorry, couldn't resist that but I guess I should probably run for cover now, shouldn't I? But t'is true, if he did break both of my arms and one of my legs, I really would have a problem with typing and updating the story so it's probably a good idea that you've decided not to sic him on me just yet. Hey, even if you've gotten to the story late, I still appreciate your reviews. They make me all happy inside…boy, did that ever sound really damn corny. As long as you continue to review, I'll be happy._

_RacerBoy-Chase: I still insist that you don't give yourself enough credit. In my opinion you write just as well as I do if not better. I know what it's like to come home from work and find the story updated (your story) makes me all happy and such. To much damn sap in this chapter, now I'm in sappy mode._

_KawaiiYamato: Yes, Trin is very much on a path to destruction. And the path is not quite ready to let go of her, not just yet anyhow. Loose control? Did she ever have any control to begin with? In all honesty, probably not. She's beyond the loosing control bit, lol. Hopefully things start looking up for Lin, just remain positive and I'll do the same. I have to believe that the rock bottom was already reached and in that case there's only up to go. You've got to believe it as well my friend._

_Dark672: Yes I know, as always. Thanks again._

_Kara: Yay, another update, lol. In one aspect Trin does take after me, she's an accident waiting to happen. She's now demolished a total of four vehicles, two of them not belonging to her. Five if you want to include the incident with Cobalt Blue. Concerning Court, yeah I know, she is way out of the loop and doesn't even know it! Guess Trin may end up replacing Street Thunder for her in the end…not the first time, lol. Well, it's true, you already do know what's going to happen next. Well girl, hopefully I'll catch you on the forums here soon. And Happy New Year's to you too, hope you enjoyed it. Damian actually stayed up long enough to watch the ball drop. He thought it was something of interest until I told him it was time to go to sleep, lol._


	17. Conditioning of a Silencerz Agent

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

An AcceleRacers Fanfiction

By: Wings of Speed

Disclaimer: If you really feel the need to read it flip back to Chapter 1, you'll find it there.

Summary: Within the dark recesses of Trinity's mind are memories pertaining to the Silencerz that probably should be left where they are, but when the imperative reasserts itself, things are not as they should be. The past collides with the present as we get a look at what happens within the Silencerz Organization. Last Chapter

The Truth That Lies Beyond The Lies

Chapter 17: Conditioning of a Silencerz Agent

Light flared within the darkness, only to flicker and fade into the nothingness again. Again there was a bright pulse of light, almost lending it's brightening source to the darkness, almost creating shadows where earlier there had been nothing but blackness…almost but not quite. The light flickered into nonexistence again, only to flare momentarily again moments later, shadows playing against shadows as apparitions appeared to walk in a state of limbo, then just as quickly as it had flared to life the light was extinguished again. This continued for what seemed like an eternity, the light flaring into existence only to be extinguished like flames suddenly plunged into water. There was also a gray haze swirled within the darkness, creating an illusion of smoke or the clouds just before a thunderstorm, as well as the encroaching darkness.

With each pulse of the light more images were formed, only to fade back into the inky darkness. To become nothingness once more.

The light pulsed again, a baby's cry echoed in the darkness, seeming to reverberate off of nothing, bouncing like a remembered echo from a time long past. The cry of a second infant splintered the silence. The darkness encompassed everything once more and the wailing of the infant twins slowly ceased into nothingness.

Again the light pulsed, this time it was accompanied by the sound of clattering metal. An image of a bike slowly falling to the ground was formed, but just as quickly as it had appeared it was engulfed once more by the murkiness of the darkening mists.

Light again, this time the sound of a car's engine revving. The shadowed form of a young girl could be seen peering beneath the raised hood of a car. A horn suddenly sounded from the encroaching darkness and a soft curse was heard as the girl jumped, her head smacking off of the hood. As the image faded, swallowed up by the darkness once more, there was the sound of another young girl laughing.

The light pulsed once more and the sound of squealing tires eerily wafted through the inky darkness. A silhouette of a car could be seen, its tires spinning in an attempt to gain purchase on the road beneath. Then it was suddenly gone too, disappearing into the night-like darkness.

The light flared to life, bright in its intensity as it pushed the shadows and darkness to the far recesses of this strange world where nothing seemed at all as it truly was.

Trinity stared around her in horror, she knew this place and it was one place she didn't want to be again. It was a part of her life she wished beyond hope she could forget, though she had enjoyed it greatly, it was the beginning of the end for her.

It was here that all hell would eventually break loose and things would never be the same. It was here that she drew attention to herself, attention that she sure as hell wished had never been thrown in her direction to begin with.

It was here that she had begun her short journey in the normal world of the military, before the Silencerz had shown an interest in her. Then her world was anything but normal, and it would eventually come crashing down around her.

She watched as her past self walked across the airfield, stopping beneath the wing of a Stealth Bomber. She had worked on many different types of military issue vehicles, but the Bombers had been her favorite. They were sleek, and beautiful to watch in flight; and deadly as all hell. Was that what had drawn her to them? Was it their dangerous nature, the promise of death that lingered just around them in indefinite waves?

She watched as her past self removed a panel from the area on the main body of the Bomber, just beneath the left wing. She remembered that a bunch of wires and cables had been exposed to her then; there was something wrong within the mechanics of the Bomber. For some odd reason the computer in this particular jet had not been responding to all commands of the pilot. It seemed to have developed a mind of its own and only responded when it saw fit, which was only about twenty-five percent of the time. The other seventy-five percent of the time, the jet was as dangerous to friendlies as it was to the enemies. The jet had become a rogue fighter in the worst possible way.

Again there was a brief flash of light, then total darkness as the airbase suddenly disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place. She knew it had though. As much as she wished it hadn't, she knew it had.

The light flared to life once more, expanding in its radiance only to coalesce and condense, finally revealing the inside of the Silencerz base. The training room of the Silencerz base to be precise. She saw herself and five others seated at a series of tables, and at the front of the room stood a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties, maybe early forties.

Serena was there, and Courtney as well; she couldn't remember the names of the other three trainees. It wasn't all that important; they hadn't made it through the initial training.

_Hadn't made it through the initial training?_

She felt laughter bubbling up within her throat. Insane laughter. _Hadn't made it through the initial training?_ Indeed, they hadn't _lived_ through the initial training! They hadn't been able to deal with what had been expected of them and three weeks into the training they had…She shook her head, not wanting to remember it but it seemed someone else had other ideas in mind.

The image before her shifted and she watched as three prototype Silencerz cars whipped out onto a practice track. Everything had been done within the Silencerz base, everything. One never had to leave the base; everything you would ever need was there. Food, R&R, there was even a type of holo suite, which could be programmed to show anything you wanted. The base was truly something out of a Sci-Fi movie.

But she, Courtney and Serena had all left the base on countless occasions, but their excursions had all been in connection to their mission. They were to retain their notoriety as street racers, but how were they to do that if they just all of a sudden disappeared from the scene?

She turned her attention back to the three prototype cars, these three had never been truly fleshed out; they're specifications had been literally thrown into the trash. They had never been used in any of the Realms, at least not after the three drivers had managed to prove that they were not worthy to become true Silencerz cars.

Another set of three cars throttled onto the track, unlike the first three the second set held formation, staying closely together, almost as if they were watching one another's backs. Trinity remembered what the whole reason had been for this training: To see how well the six recruits held up under extreme conditions.

It had been a demolition derby of sorts, but instead of just trying to mangle the living shit out of your competition, your objective was to totally annihilate them. You were supposed to make certain that not only was the car a total loss, but that there was no way possible for the other driver to walk away from their car. You didn't necessarily have to kill your opponent though.

But it was the best means to the end.

Trinity sighed, remembering how the scenario had ended. She, Serena and Courtney had come out of the skirmish untouched, the other three weren't so lucky. She hadn't understood at the time that they were actually going to kill the other drivers, hadn't understood exactly how cold-hearted those in the higher positions of the Silencerz were.

She definitely knew now.

Her attention was pulled back to the track as a loud explosion rocked the surroundings. The first of the other three cars had just gone up in a display worthy of the fireworks on the Fourth of July. Soon, the other two would join their teammate.

Serena had taken out the first car, Courtney had reduced the second to a heap of twisted metal and Trinity had literally detonated the third car into an explosive fireball as she forced it into the smoking remains of the first.

They hadn't known until later that the other three trainees had been driving those cars, hadn't known that they'd taken another human's life in that ill-fated training exercise. They had been led to believe before the exercise had started that robots were controlling the three other cars.

How wrong they were!

The Silencerz only wanted the best and there was no room for error.

She and Courtney were devastated when they'd found the truth out, they couldn't believe that they were murderers! Serena hadn't seemed phased by the whole ordeal. It was all in the line of duty, she had said later on.

It still haunted Trinity, as much as it did Courtney.

The destructive scene before her faded and with it the guilt ridden pain she had so keenly felt. The guilt was still there, a heavy burden on her heart, but it had lessened slightly with the vanishing of the image. And with the passing of time since those months that seemed so long ago.

If only she had known, then she would never have agreed to become an agent for the Silencerz!

Another image burst to life before her and she felt a groan well up in her throat. Somehow, she had known that this particular scene would pop up at some point.

They were once again in the training room, she, Serena and Courtney, this time there were several other instructors with them, including their uncle, Vert's father. Various pictures and computer pads littered the tables and piles of paper and documents could be seen peeking out of neatly piled vanilla folders.

She watched as her past self reached for one of the folders off to her left and slowly opened it up. She closed her eyes, not wanting to relive this. Not wanting to remember what this training had been all about.

"You know this person?" the woman from before asked. The instructor, the woman in her late thirties, early forties…the woman who Trinity had grown to hate with a passion. There were no emotions to this woman, no kindness, no gentleness. She was hard and cold and seemed to care not all for those she had been instructed to teach. The mean look in her eyes told that she hated these three recruits she had been ordered to teach, hated them with almost the same passion that Trinity had come to hate her with.

Trinity's past self glared up at the woman, "Of course I know him. He's my cousin." Her blue eyes flickered toward her uncle, waiting to see if there'd be any reaction from him. He didn't even so much as glance her way, he was staring at the back of the room like a good little soldier.

She heard a snort come from the woman and watched as her past self forced her blue gaze back to the stiff as a brick bitch. "The only relatives you have are those in the Silencerz, this you would do well to remember." The woman responded.

Trinity's past self rolled her eyes, "And you'd do well to remember that I don't take orders from cantankerous old crones like you."

Trinity closed her eyes, but she still heard the loud smack that signaled the woman had just struck her past self. She could still feel the sting of it across her cheek. Instinctively she put a hand up to her face, knowing without looking that her mirror image was doing the same thing.

A low growl had filled the training room, "So help me lady, you ever lay a hand on me again, it'll be the last thing you ever do!"

Trinity opened her eyes and watched as her mirror self, blue flames sparking in her eyes, glared at the old crone. The old crone had the audacity to actually laugh at her!

Even now, knowing that the images playing before her weren't real, the woman's laughter still sent shivers of dread running up her spine.

"We'll make a proper Silencerz out of you yet," the woman cackled and this sent chills coursing through Trinity's body. The woman's words had been true, they had made a proper Silencerz agent out of her.

The cantankerous old crone picked up the picture of Vert that Trinity had only moments ago held, she then turned her attention away from Trinity, her cold stare taking in both Serena and Courtney. "Vert Wheeler," she said in a monotone. "Son of Major Jack Wheeler and as I well know, also your cousin."

"And your point being what?" Serena asked, her eyes giving the impression for all the world to see that this whole thing was boring her greatly. Indeed it had been, Trinity's twin had wanted to get into the action part of the training. She hated sitting on her backside and preferred first hand experience. She hated the whole scenario of sitting in a classroom learning, it just didn't fit with her style in the least.

"My point," the crone had sneered, her eyes directly focusing on Trinity, "Is that though he may be blood related to you, you owe no loyalty to him, at least not any longer. You are Silencerz agents, you drive for us now and we own you. We _are_ your family and no one else." She held Vert's picture up for each of the three young agents to look at, a cold gleam entering into her eyes. "He means nothing to you any longer. Your bonds to him have been broken and your bonds to us have been forged. From now on, you have no family outside of this organization. Is that clear?" With that, the old woman actually ripped Vert's picture in two and allowed both halves to flutter to the floor.

"Yeah, crystal clear," Serena has said, rolling her eyes with her words. She really hadn't given a care for a word this woman uttered or anything else that happened to come out of her mouth. Serena had just wanted to get to the good part of the training…more destruction and mayhem.

"Yes ma'am," Courtney had softly muttered. She hadn't been able to agree with the standards that the Silencerz enforced. Forced coercion was not high on her lists of likes, still wasn't.

Trinity herself had refused to answer, had refused to agree to what was being ordered of her. She suddenly flinched as something was slammed down on the table before her past self. She remembered what it had been, she also remembered having it come down hard on one of her hands. A wooden ruler, though where the vicious old bitch had pulled it from she still wasn't certain of. One second it wasn't there, and the next it was, slamming down hard on one of her hands.

"Ow!" she heard the other Trinity yell in outrage and pain.

Trinity flinched, she remembered what was coming next and what the next couple of hours would be like. Something she would give anything to forget! The torture…the beatings…she still held scars from it all, scars she hid well.

The Silencerz expected 100 cooperation from their agents, and those that didn't give it were punished. Punished severely.

"What was that for?" Her past self growled.

Trinity closed her eyes, fearing what she knew was coming next.

Nothing happened. There was no sound of flesh hitting flesh as she knew was to happen. There was no sound of her outraged scream or the yell that had erupted from her throat when she had vaulted over the table, fully intent of taking this old woman out. Or the scuffle that had ensued when security had been called in to rein this thing back under control.

There was nothing, no sound…just silence.

This was not right.

She cracked an eye open and was greeted once more with darkness. The scene had vanished like the ones before it.

A sigh of relief passed by her lips, she was suddenly glad for the reprieve from remembering something that she really didn't want to relive.

A light pulsed in the darkness, so very dim at first then brightening until she had to place a hand before her eyes to blot it out. There was the sound of voices around her and the quick sounds of keyboard buttons being hit.

She slowly removed her hand from before her eyes and glared at the scene before her. It would figure, go from the frying pan to the fire.

They were in another classroom this time, but with a different teacher. This teacher was an older gentleman, in his mid to late fifties, perhaps a little older. He had a balding head and light gray eyes that almost appeared silver in their coloring. He was soft spoken and Trinity liked him a lot better than the cantankerous old crone that had been their teacher previously.

She walked slowly around the room until she was standing behind her past self, looking over the other Trinity's shoulder at the computer screen that flashed various images before her. They were being debriefed on the Teku and Metal Maniacs, discovering where their weaknesses and strengths lay. Discovering what the easiest ways would be to destroy Tezla's teams. It was the main objective of the Silencerz, to beat Tezla and discover exactly what was at the end of the Racing Realms and to be the first to do it.

And woe be to any that got in the way of their main objective.

They had finished their research on Vert, Nolo and Karma of the Teku and Taro, Markie or as he preferred to be called, Wylde and Tork of the Metal Maniacs. They were just starting on Shirako and next would be Monkey, then they'd move on to Kurt and Pork Chop.

"Shirako Takamoto," the teacher, she couldn't remember what his name had been, was just starting to say, "He, as we discovered with Karma, Nolo and Tork, is new to the Realms. He did not participate in the World Race as some of the others did and had not met Tezla before this.

"His main strength seems to lie in his music, which is boosted to the point of being able to throw audio waves into the air to force his competitors off the road. He has not proven to be much of a worry as he seems to always be near to if not at the end of the pack. Our data suggests that he's not so much worried about winning in the Realms, not as much as he is about his music."

"Then why should we even worry about him?" Serena had questioned.

Their teacher had turned his steely gray gaze to Trinity's twin, a sparkle entering into his eyes. "Why should you worry about him?" he repeated. "Because Serena, a team is only as weak as its weakest link and this Shirako may prove to be the Teku's weakest link. As a Silencerz you must learn to exploit your enemies every weakness, even ones that don't seem worthy of your time. Underestimating your competition can lead to a fatal error and that is something we are not willing to see happen."

Trinity had snorted, "I highly doubt any system he has installed in that truck could compete with what Bass Assault is equipped with. She's got the latest everything."

"Again, do not underestimate your competition Trinity. They may have some surprises in store for us, the same as we do for them. Only time will reveal this."

Trinity had rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and the dragons on Assault will take off and fly one of these days," she had countered.

"They do fly," Courtney had pointed out.

"Only when I'm driving," Trinity had shot back.

This had resulted in a debate that had lasted for nearly half an hour before the teacher had finally had enough and turned the discussion back onto its original track. Back towards Shirako Takamoto and his weaknesses and strengths. There weren't many to be found since not much was known about the young Asian man.

They had records of his birth; when his family had moved from Japan to the United States; when he had received his driving license and what his first vehicle had been, which surprisingly enough had been a hand me down, a '76 Buick Skyhawk.

Other than that, there wasn't much information to be had other than his love for loud music…something Trinity could understand since it had been possible to hear Bass Assault coming from miles away.

They also had records about Bassline's specifications; when the truck had originally been built. The Silencerz probably knew about as much as Shirako knew about his car, perhaps even more.

Next they moved on to Monkey, but they'd had the same problem with him as they'd had with Shirako. They knew his true name; date of birth; when he'd received his driving license; his interest more in things beneath the hood than actually racing; and the fact that he was quite literally a coward. But between Takamoto and McClurg, Monkey was the more vocal of the two. Other than that, there wasn't much more information on the Metal Maniacs resident mechanic.

The images before her started to blur, receding into darkness once more and she silently hoped that this whole thing would finally be over with. Why she was being forced to remember all of this was beyond her, she just didn't understand it at all.

"He won't agree to it," she heard someone say from the darkness. "He's happy where he's at, he won't want to leave his friends and join us."

Shadowed figures started to walk in the darkness before her and even before they started to take solid shape she knew what she was about to see. She didn't like it, didn't want to remember it. Didn't even want to think about it! If she closed her eyes would it go away?

She highly doubted it.

She didn't have much choice though as a bright light suddenly erupted from no where and she found herself staring at her past self again, along with Serena, Courtney, Admiral Graymond and Uncle Jack. There were a few others in the room, but she couldn't remember their names and didn't deem them important enough to even attempt to. They weren't the ones who were trying to destroy the lives of Vert and his friends after all.

"He won't have much choice in the matter," Admiral Graymond had sneered.

"How do you know it will work?" Courtney had softly asked.

"We've been planning this for months, there's no way it can go wrong," the admiral had answered, turning his beady eyes to Courtney. He checked his watch then glanced around the room, his eyes once more returning to Court. "You're expected at the med-bay in fifteen minutes, you'd better be on your way."

Courtney had nodded her head and silently left the meeting room. Discussions were to be made and it had been decided beforehand that Courtney would not willingly participate in the planning phase of the discussions. She was to be included in the plans, just not to her knowledge, she wouldn't have a clue of what was actually being planned. She only knew that one way or another the Silencerz were going to recruit Vert Wheeler, whether he agreed to it or not. Vert Wheeler would in the end be theirs.

The door had closed with a hiss behind her, after which Admiral Graymond had turned his attention to those still left within the debriefing room. "Now, onto the real plans." He chuckled as he rubbed his palms together, an evil glint entering his eyes.

"We already know that Vert won't agree with our plans, he won't want to join his father and cousins within our ranks, so it's up to us to come up with a plan to ensure his cooperation."

Something had entered Major Wheeler's eyes at the moment, something similar to regret over what was being planned. Trinity continued to wonder if her uncle hadn't agreed with what was being formulated for his only son. Had he really wanted Vert to join the Silencerz or was he being coerced like most everyone else?

"We already know from our undercover agents that the Drone's have captured Markie Wylde, it's only a matter of time until those within Tezla's teams decide to try and rescue their teammate." Serena had spoken up. She seemed to be the only one that agreed with the plan to force Vert into the Silencerz. She didn't seem to have a problem with it at all.

"Correction, we already know that Tezla's teams are planning on rescuing Markie Wylde. Tezla just doesn't know it yet." Admiral Graymond responded.

"We also know that Gelorum is planning on attacking the AcceleDrome," Trinity commented.

"Yes, and the computers have come up with several possible outcomes and we need to plan around all of these." Graymond responded. "And from the plans we have already made there are other possible outcomes that need to be planned for. All possible variables have been added in, it all depends on what scenario is played out in the end."

"And what are the possible outcomes?" Serena asked.

The images before her faded, but she didn't need to relive what had happened afterwards, she already knew. She remembered everything with perfect clarity, even if she so wished she didn't.

"If in the event he should escape, this plan will go into effect, but only if he should escape." She heard Graymond's voice. She forced a breath from her lungs, hoping that all of this would be over with soon, she was getting highly annoyed with reliving all this crap she really didn't want to be! Why was it happening in the first place? What could have happened for all these images to come flooding back to her consciousness? Try as she might, she couldn't remember anything about what had happened before she found herself in this blackness that was forcing these images upon her brain.

"I'm still dead?" Serena had asked.

"Yes, you're still dead, how many times do I need to repeat this?" Graymond had snapped. They were still in the debriefing room but now it was several hours later and everyone's tempers were showing to be short-fused.

"Why am I the one who has to die? Why not Trinity?" Serena had nearly whined, showing exactly how fatigued she was becoming. Serena never whined, it just wasn't something she did. Yell, holler, scream at the top of her lungs; yes, but whining was not something she ever did.

"Because Vert shares a stronger bond with Trinity than he does you," Major Wheeler had pointed out.

"Yes, and we need someone he's going to trust. We know from records that he'll trust Trinity far more than he will you," Graymond had explained, a note of growing boredom entering his voice. "And for this plan we need someone he's going to trust without a doubt. That person is Trinity."

"I don't like it," Trinity had responded. "It's not going to be fair to him to tell him that Serena's dead."

Graymond's eyes had narrowed at this, "No one ever said that the Silencerz played fair. We do what we must to further our objectives along and if a bit of lying and cheating end up in the mix, it's beyond our control."

"I refuse to go along with this, I refuse to lie to Vert!" Trinity had yelled, the palms of her hands hitting the table's surface with a resounding slap.

Graymond had slowly walked around the table, his hands fisted at his sides. Trinity had slowly sat back down in her seat, suddenly realizing that she had overstepped her bounds. She was in trouble now, and she knew it.

"It seems another trip to the OT is in order, you seem to forget your place Corporal Wheeler." The admiral's voice had lowered to the point where she had barely been able to hear what he had said, but she knew just by the wicked glint that surfaced in his eyes that she was way beyond being in just deep trouble, she was now in some serious shit.

Trinity closed her eyes, her lungs sucking in a deep breath. Oh God, this was really something she didn't want to remember. Something she would just as soon forget, push it to the furthest recesses of her mind and pretend it had never happened. If only she could.

Darkness engulfed her once more and this time there was no flashing or flickering of lights. No images surfaced, there were no voices echoing in the darkness. Only complete and utter silence.

_The Silencerz condition their agents for complete and utter obedience. Those agents that seem to have issues or complaints with the rules and sanctions of the Organization are quickly subdued and shown their proper place. Torture and physical abuse are not above their actions and they'll resort to severe punishments for those that even give the slightest inkling of not agreeing with the motives of the Organization and are quickly shown the errors of their ways._

Trinity's mind was lost in the darkness, her mind flitting from one thought to another, remembering things she had been taught and learned. Things that the Silencerz had programmed into her psyche, things that no matter how much she may fight against, it would prove to be a useless war. She could not win against their programming, in the end it would overpower her mind and she'd do what she had been bidden to do in the first place.

In the end, she would deliver Vert Wheeler to those that she saw now as the enemy.

In the end she would betray her cousin and those that she had come to think of as friends. She would betray those she had come to care for. Those that she loved.

It was the truth beyond the lies.

She was a Silencerz agent; she drove and worked for the enemy. The truth beyond the lies was that she would betray Vert, and though she wouldn't do it willingly, she would do it nonetheless. She would hand him over and there was not a thing she could do to stop it. Not a way she could stop herself from betraying both him and her own self…not a way she could end the torture she was being put through.

_Technetium will be delivered in just a matter of a few days. Vert will never suspect what is happening until it's too late. He'll never suspect that I work for the Silencerz and that he's been set up. He'll never discover the truth until it's too late and by then there's nothing that his friends will be able to do. He'll be lost to them forever. He'll be a Silencerz agent, like the rest of his family._

_Well, this chapter didn't exactly go as planned and I think it raised more questions than answers, but that seems to be a normal occurrence for me at any rate. Oh…and did I mention that this is the last chapter? The End! No more._

_Hope you enjoyed the read…and of course keep checking back for the sequel. I'll have it started at some point here…not sure when though. Though if my reviews keep dropping the way they have been the sequel may never get off the ground. In other words, if you want to read the sequel you'd best review!_

_Be sure to watch for _And The Lies Continue To Crumble!

_Shout outs…_

_Wbwjcmichael: Wow, now that name is a mouthful! Yeah, I'm a 'Mom' writing this, kinda weird, isn't it? My little boy is 7 and he's definitely the main reason why I'm interested in the AcceleRacers…fast cars and action help out a lot as well. Glad to have you onboard and hopefully you continue reading as the sequel debuts in all it's glory._

_Royal Union: You bring up a valid question and one that I'm really not ready to answer yet, but there is an explanation to why the AcceleChargers have basically been overlooked. That'll be gotten into later…maybe._

_C-chan: Well, there's the next chapter…can't say it's all that great or anything but as things go, I think it left a lot of questions to be answered with very few answers given. A lot to be explained in the sequel, no?_

_Dragoneian: Definitely glad to see that you are back. As for the plot thickening…yes indeed, it is, and it's only getting thicker as it goes along. But this was the last chapter for this story, hopefully within the next couple of weeks the sequel will be up and running. I do so love cliffhangers._

_Kara: You girl, I'll just talk to later. I've got a few details I need to weasel outta ya. Like what was the whole theory on the sequel! Brain lapse, lol._

_Chase: I don't feel like typing the whole Racerboy thing (even though I just did) so I'm just gonna go with Chase from now on. As for Shirako getting his thing going on…oh yeah, that'll come in later…after all, Katana has to come around somehow, but right now he's not seeing any major action, lol. He will later, that's a guarantee. Now update!_

_Kawaii: Again I'm being lazy and not typing everyone's full name. YES, you lost Shirako to Trinity! I know I'll talk to you later so there's really no need to put a whole lot in here. I'll catch you online at some point, as long as our schedules cooperate. Be well girl, we're all thinking of you._

_Dark672: My mouth honestly fell when I first started reading your review. I was like…Oh crap! But I'm happy, I got more than it's good outta ya! That's an accomplishment for me, lol. Glad you're still reading._

_Moriko: What! How can you not like romance? Ok…so it is sappy and all, but it's so romantic! Ah forget it, I'm burying myself in this argument. Wylde had better not be demolishing Shirako's speakers! Wylde can't find his way out of a wet paper bag…how's he going to manage to find Bassline? Sorry, couldn't resist. Leaving now before you attempt sicking Wylde on me yet again. I'll just go hide behind Shirako._


End file.
